Facebook users are reporting loss of data following a new messenger hack that is doing the rounds.
The scam which phishes for users personal information has been reported to arrive in the form of a message on users’ Facebook profile itself or via messenger. The malicious phishing message reads “Look what I found” and includes an emoji and a hyperlink.
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The message is likely to come from a friend or other contact who has had their account compromised - with hackers trying to pose as the person you know.
If a user clicks on the link, they been taken through to a malicious web page posing as a genuine Facebook page that will ask for log-in details.
If these are entered, the scammers running the site will be able to get access to personal data and, in some cases, install malware directly onto the phone.
Leslie Sikos, a cyber security expert from Edith Cowan University, told 7NEWS.com.au that scammers trick users by using the names of their existing contacts.
He said: “Messages seemingly coming from a Facebook friend much more likely result in clicks than messages sent by strangers, because people might only or primarily focus on the sender’s name at first rather than the message content, regardless whether that has red flags.
“There are many scams of this sort, meaning that there is no single appearance or behaviour users could learn to avoid.”
Phishing is a term applied to a kind of electronic communications scam that aims to obtain private information, or to spread harmful malware, via the recipient.
It takes its name from fishing due to the parallels in unaware targets being reeled in by bait.
