The return of Facebook video virus

Same old strategy

Warnings to beware of Facebook video virus seem too familiar? Well, get prepared for another series of them. No matter whether it is summer or aftermath of the “rehabilitation” period after WannaCry or NotPetya attack, Facebook scammers continue their everyday mission – deceive the community. This time, they present quite a dull scam – just another Facebook video virus.

Next Facebook computer worm roll-out

If you think that Facebook community has already learned its lesson and will not fall into the same trap twice, you are very wrong. Recently, the scam warning users not to accept the friend invitation by the mysterious Jayden K. Smith has passed by. Unfortunately, the surprisingly high number of netizens passed the message without even giving it a second though that it is actually another Facebook virus.

Now felons are targeting North Wales users.^[1] They might receive the message, with the YouTube video attached, from their friends. Naturally, this video contains their profile picture. If they give in to the curiosity and click on the link, they get misguided to a counterfeited YouTube site.

For their disappointment, the promised video does not load. In order to watch it, users are asked to install some questionable file. This is the same story as one year ago when fraudsters suggested installing a fishy Codec extension.^[2] Besides, clicking on the link will also enable the malware, which is a computer trojan, to continue its traffic.

Though such Facebook Message virus is certainly not a novelty as it rolls out regularly, the number of victims is alarming. Users are used to clicking on any intriguing link without even considering the probability that it might be a scam.

Recently, several scams were unleashed in the virtual reality of Facebook. Felons attempted to deceive users with free flight tickets. Another scam terrified users with the mysterious identity of Jayden K. Smith.

Security tips for the future

Even if these talks about changing your Facebook password and scanning your system might get too annoying, such precaution measures work.^[3] If you haven’t fallen for the trap, warn your fellow Facebook users to be more cautious and not to become easy targets for deception.

Unless you are a celebrity yourself, treat every similar message with caution. On the final note, observing the current rate of Facebook scams, you might expect another one anytime soon.