CYBERSPACE—Spammers have apparently exploited vulnerabilities in Facebook that allow them to post up supposed fan images to profiles that are in actuality links to dating sites. AllFacebook.com reported on the issue in a Sunday post, and AVN confirmed Monday that the images are still up.
Michael Jackson’s profile—the most popular on Facebook with almost 19 million friends—is just one of the profiles being targeted by the spammers. AllFacebook also named “Lil Wayne, Britney Spears, and many others.”
The ruse is very simple: the culprits simply upload supposed images of fans, complete with a presumably real Facebook profile, and then add an enticing message, such as:
“I am a sensuous girl and I love to give kiss and touch with passion Tease and please you for as long as you want I am young and can be with you til the sun rises back Get back in me and see if we're a match. See me in my photos at http://s-go.com/w5S.”
The above link, which was found Monday on the Michael Jackson profile, directs the user to a well-known dating site, but not to a dating profile of the presumed fan, who has a Facebook profile that appears to have been created two days ago. According to this person’s Wall, the same photo, containing the same message and link that was posted to Michael Jackson’s profile, has also been posted to profiles belonging to Justin Bieber and Adam Sandler, among others.
“While the volume of images has varied over the past few weeks,” reported AllFacebook.com, “it’s clear that the images are still widespread among top Pages including Michael Jackson’s, the most popular page on all of Facebook. Facebook appears to be blocking some of the links, but ultimately they all end up at adult online dating sites. The end result is that some guys end up falling for the scam and register for the site. While you can blame the guys for being ignorant for doing so, the adult images showing up on top Pages are a significant problem for Facebook.”
In order the combat the scheme, some of the largest profiles have cut off the ability for users to upload fan photos, said AllFacebook, which added that the number of fake fan photos—and presumably profiles—is thus far outpacing the ability of FaceBook to address the problem.
“While most the readers of this site know not to fall for the scam, it’s still a growing problem,” noted AllFacebook.com.
