Suspicious Facebook message

[Dan]

I took this screenshot from my mom's iPhone:

Apparently, she's received this three times, but never clicked the "OK" button. I'm worried that she got this message from the websites she's visited and pages she likes. This seems fishy with the incorrect capitalization, as that's usually an indication it came from a fishy site. Is this happening to anyone else and should I be concerned?

 

[GTPorsche]

That is definitely not a legitimate website. I have no experience with how iphone browsers work though so someone else might be able to give more info.

 

[TenEightyOne]

Look at the web address, the main domain is not www.facebook.com, it's facebook.com-surveys.me. Dodgy dodgy dodgy.

 

[Dan]

Look at the web address, the main domain is not www.facebook.com, it's facebook.com-surveys.me. Dodgy dodgy dodgy.

Exactly. Facebook's support page isn't helpful because it only lists results for suspicious direct messages and emails. Not pop-ups.

 

[ULTRAVIOLENZZ]

Try deleting some cookies.

 

[eran0004]

Anything on the internet that starts with "Congratulations" should be avoided.

 

[Korza]

Exactly. Facebook's support page isn't helpful because it only lists results for suspicious direct messages and emails. Not pop-ups.

It's unlikely to be related to Facebook itself, more likely malware on the phone itself.

 

[Omnis]

Tell your mom to stop watching porn.

 

[Liquid]

These phishers intentionally put in small errors and wrong capitalisations so that anyone who doesn't notice them or can't see past them are almost certainly 'stupid' enough or gullible enough to fall for the rest of the scam.

Interesting screening process. Definitely avoid.

 

[Infinital-NG]

These phishers intentionally put in small errors and wrong capitalisations so that anyone who doesn't notice them or can't see past them are almost certainly 'stupid' enough or gullible enough to fall for the rest of the scam.

Interesting screening process. Definitely avoid.

I always thought they were just from another country where English wasn't their primary language and just made mistakes.

I would think they'd want it as proper as possible to make the smart people go there as well.

 

[Dan]

It's unlikely to be related to Facebook itself, more likely malware on the phone itself.

I want to know if there's a way of detecting and removing the malware without affecting anything else. We're both due for new phones, but we can handle our current ones for a little while longer (Although my 4S's battery life is significantly shorter than it used to be).

 

[Omnis]

What kind of sick mother watches survey porn, anyway?

 

[eran0004]

I always thought they were just from another country where English wasn't their primary language and just made mistakes.

I would think they'd want it as proper as possible to make the smart people go there as well.

Not really, because smart people would just be a waste of time. Sooner or later they'd realise it's a scam so there's no point in asking them for money.

 

[Jordan]

I don't think you have anything to be concerned about.

From the looks of the Facebook app interface, which shows a back button, the word "Redirect", and the "Share" button, she has just clicked on a link from her news feed to a website. In the Facebook app's browser, web pages can open standard JavaScript alert pop-ups (which look exactly like the dialog box on the screen); none of which means her Facebook account, app, or iPhone have been compromised.

If she's seen it three times, I'd hazard a guess that one of her friends (whose account has been compromised and is posting content automatically) or one of the pages she follows has been posting spammy click-bait articles, all of which are hosted on the same website that triggers those alerts. And, because of Facebook's News Feed algorithms, the more she clicks on content from that person/page, the more she's going to see (and keep clicking) those links.

 

[Sanji Himura]

I agree with @Jordan. The process of telling good links from bad is often times a simple matter of knowing what the link will ultimately take you. I don't know what the process is on iOS, but if you hold the link down on any Android device, it will turn over the link's ultimate address to you. Unless you trust the person giving you the link, I personally avoid all links with the .ly extension, as often times those can hide some nasty viruses simply through the convenience of a URL that fits in a Tweet.

That brings me to a common misconception about social media. Facebook does not have a 140 character restriction! If they can't be bothered to post a full link in their facebook posts, then I wouldn't bother seeing what they have to say.

 

[Dan]

I don't think you have anything to be concerned about.

From the looks of the Facebook app interface, which shows a back button, the word "Redirect", and the "Share" button, she has just clicked on a link from her news feed to a website. In the Facebook app's browser, web pages can open standard JavaScript alert pop-ups (which look exactly like the dialog box on the screen); none of which means her Facebook account, app, or iPhone have been compromised.

If she's seen it three times, I'd hazard a guess that one of her friends (whose account has been compromised and is posting content automatically) or one of the pages she follows has been posting spammy click-bait articles, all of which are hosted on the same website that triggers those alerts. And, because of Facebook's News Feed algorithms, the more she clicks on content from that person/page, the more she's going to see (and keep clicking) those links.

I've tried to talk to her about bad pages and clickbait, but she dismissed clickbait as "Well, they need to attract readers somehow." Thankfully, I encouraged her to un-like Buzzfeed and one or two stupid pages, but I don't know how many junk sites she visits through the FB app. I'm worried because she can't discern between what's clickbait and what isn't, which could lead her to malicious sites.

 

[synchromesh]

Anyone else remember those "Congratulations! You are the 100,000th visitor! " that used to shake around all over the place? I didn't even know those pop ups still existed but I guess so.

 

[Carbonox]

Anyone else remember those "Congratulations! You are the 100,000th visitor! " that used to shake around all over the place? I didn't even know those PPP ups still existed but I guess so.

I'm not even sure why these obvious scam pop-ups would be allowed in the first place.

 

[synchromesh]

I'm not even sure why these obvious scam pop-ups would be allowed in the first place.

Found it!

Looked exactly like that. Keep in mind this was the early 2000's where, at least where I live in New Hampshire, the Internet was still a bit of a curiosity. I knew, but some people like my Dad didn't know any better and would believe an ad like this.

 

[Hollow]

but some people like my Dad didn't know any better and would believe an ad like this.

My dad still doesn't know any better. He still thinks he won an Iphone by being the 10,000th visitor and I was "evil" to close the ad when he broke the news to me.

 

[BobK]

This one's a classic; I think it predates Facebook though.

 

[ECGadget]

If it says "CONGRATULATIONS YOU HAVE" or "YOU ARE THE LUCKY" or "HAVE YOU" or "[insert generic name here] DID [insert money making scheme here]" then I do not trust it.

 

[synchromesh]

This one's a classic; I think it predates Facebook though.

View attachment 436366

Never seen that one before, wow that's bad.

 

[Pupik]

This one's a classic; I think it predates Facebook though.

View attachment 436366

Good thing I mailed my entry in, just to be safe.

US stamps were just 32 cents back then, so who's laughing now?