Facebook Safety – Watch out for Landmines

It happens thousands of times each day. An unsuspecting victim clicks on an interesting link from a close friend on Facebook. Suddenly, the victim finds that their account has been compromised by hackers and is being used to spam others. The last thing you want your clients to see is that you have unwittingly posted inappropriate spam links on their wall. Facebook can be thought of as a minefield, but one that is worth crossing.

It seems that some people always fall prey to these scams and virus links. Others instinctively know what to avoid. How can you know what is safe to click? Here is a quick primer in Facebook safety:

 Avoiding Facebook Scams and Viruses

• Often, risque pictures or unbelievable seeming headlines are bait for you to click. If something seems inappropriate for Facebook, or otherwise too good to be true, it probably is.
• Anyone can have their account compromised. Even the most trustworthy friend could be unwittingly spreading spam or a virus.
• Search engines can be your best friend. When you see a truly outrageous link on Facebook, something like “Britney Spears Eats 4 Foot Long Spider,” try searching for the headline in a search engine. You will almost immediately be able to tell if there is a real article out there or not. If the link is a scam or a virus, you are likely to see results that say so. Facebook spam is spread by clicking links within Facebook. Your anti-virus software can protect you when you browse on search engines, but it cannot protect the integrity of your Facebook account.
• Be careful when granting permissions to applications within Facebook. As we all learned from Farmville and its many clones, you might actually be agreeing to fill your clients’ newsfeeds with spam. It is better to avoid any Facebook games on an account you use for professional purposes. (PROTIP: It is really easy to get other people’s game achievements to stop showing up on your newsfeed. Click the drop-down icon in the top right of any post. At the bottom of the menu, there will be an option to hide all updates from that application. Click it and Farmville/Bananaville/OtherGame is gone.)
• If you think you have clicked something that you should not have, your first step should be to change your Facebook password. Many of the hacks and exploits on Facebook stop working if you change your password.
• If you suspect you may be spamming others, quickly follow up to apologize.

With all the spam that can be found on Facebook, it sometimes seems like the site is more risk than reward. However, an educated and safe approach to social networking allows you to access invaluable tools for reaching new clients.
 
Image courtesy of codemastersnake licensed via Creative Commons.
 

Samuel Ballen

Samuel Ballen is Social Media Manager for DotCO Law Marketing. He graduated from Tulane Law School in 2010 with a certificate in Maritime Law. He is a member of the New Jersey Bar. Samuel currently lives in New Orleans and spends his free time exploring with a camera.

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