Facebook Is A Scammer’s Paradise

It’s not a question of being able to police their apps. Facebook’s got the money. They just don’t want to spend it.

For about the zillionth time I’ve killed a scam which appeared on my Facebook “wall.” If you’re on Facebook you’ve seen it or something close. There’s a photo of a winsome young woman always dressed, but still provocative. It’s flanked by come-on text promising the video that got her suspended, or drove her father to kill her, or (the latest),

Sofia, 22 yrs Girl from Chicago committed Suicide before a Cam after breakup. First time a Live suicide death video of true lovers in the history on a Cam (Weak hearts dont watch

The fact that some Facebook friends were curious about seeing this “Live suicide death video” is troubling in its own right. Still, it’s a scam! I don’t know exactly how the scammer intends to extract something from me. It’s a scam nonetheless.

Why does this happen? Sure there are crooks, but Facebook is complicit.

It’s obvious Facebook does a really poor job of screening the apps they allow to live on their platform. Any human would instantly recognize what’s going on, meaning Facebook doesn’t have humans involved in the screening process before an app goes live.

Apps can even ‘tag’ the photo with someone’s name. Tagging is supposed to mean you’re in the photo. Accent on the word “supposed.” Tagging moves the photo to the ‘tagees’ wall as the photo above was moved to mine. More incentive for the scam artists courtesy of Facebook!

Facebook has made a conscious decision about how much your safety and security is worth! I think their decision is misguided!

From Business Week January 11, 2011: Both The Wall Street Journal (NWS) and The New York Times (NYT) appear to have gotten their hands on some of Facebook’s internal financial results as part of the offering documents that Goldman has been giving to high-net-worth investors in its new fund. The Journal says Facebook had net income (i.e. profit) of $200 million in 2009 and revenue of $777 million. While figures for last year weren’t disclosed, the Journal adds, “analysts have said the company’s revenue last year could be as much as $2 billion, fueled by advertising growth.”

It’s not a question of being able to police their apps. Facebook’s got the money. They just don’t want to spend it.

How long would we allow scammers to set up shop in the mall? I’m not sure websites have the same legal liability to provide safety as a shopping mall, restaurant or bank. Maybe it’s about time they did?

7 thoughts on “Facebook Is A Scammer’s Paradise”

  1. I have repeatedly told people on FB about this scam when it posts to my wall and reported it to FB Security as well – they are non-responsive. maybe a note or petition to Mr. Zuckerburg will get his attention…

  2. Yet another reason that anyone with a functioning cerebrum avoids Facebook. Pimply teenagers with only a brain stem (and gonads) are the sweet spot for Facebook. Wait for it…………………………… that’s where it came from.

  3. I don’t do facebook but another scam is the lottery scam a month ago they sent me one of those checks boy it looked real of course I threw it out because I know it is a scam. I wish they could shut them down ‘Miss you on TV.

  4. I guess it is the chance one takes when using FB. I have had the same thing happen to me. All I can say is if you don’t like it the way it is then disable your account, but I think lots of people would miss you.

  5. Geoff,
    I am a Connecticut native, but live in Northwest Arkansas. I keep in touch with all of my Wallingford area friends through Facebook. Your post about Facebook was one that I wanted to share with my Facebook friends, since we have also been recipients of those tagged messages. I put the post on my wall (with a link to your blog) about 3 hours ago. I just checked my Facebook page and the post is gone! Have you ever known the Facebook administrators to take unfavorable posts down from a person’s wall?

    Sincerely,
    Karenne Saylor

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