What the Tech? More Facebook Scams

(ABC 6 News) – A viral Facebook scam that first surfaced about 13 years ago is still growing strong and being shared more than ever. You’ve no doubt seen it and it’s always the same. “OMG, it really worked!” followed by instructions to copy and paste it on your timeline to remove ads and regain friends.

Does it work? Absolutely not.

There’s nothing anyone can do to remove Facebook ads. So why is it still being shared by your Facebook friends? Judging by friends who share it occasionally, they think there’s no harm in posting it and ‘why not try it to see if it works?’.

Indeed, sharing the post isn’t going to install malware or a virus on your computer since you’re just copying and pasting the post.

Here’s the thing: scammers can use this post to spot gullible Facebook users. Since everyone’s copying and pasting the same post, it’s easy for someone to see who’s posting it.

A Facebook search for “OMG It worked” reveals hundreds of public posts from people spreading the hoax. If a scammer searches they’ll find Facebook users who believe just about anything and can target them with more scams.

Don’t believe it? I found a Facebook user who copied and pasted the post to his timeline. Over the next few days, random people left comments asking him to add them as friends or send them a message. Most of the comments are from scammers who searched “OMG it worked” to find people sharing the post. The scammers figure the guy sharing it (again) is susceptible to other scams.

Need more proof? One comment was left by Evan Doris. When I clicked on her profile I found profile photo is used by a TikTok account by the name of Evan Katie or Kate who says she’s a billionaire. A search for that name revealed a scam responsible for taking thousands of dollars from victims. And on Facebook, when someone commented on the Evan Doris account, the scammer responded “Yes, I’m the only one I chat with you on Single now” and “OK, did you still interested in 2.5 million dollars?” It’s important to note that searching for the posts shows only posts that were made publicly.

The bottom line is that the “copy and paste” posts are annoying to your friends at best and at worst could make you a target. The post is a hoax. Don’t fall for it.