McAfee warns Facebook users of phishing scam

Web security giant McAfee is warning Facebook’s 400 million users to be aware of an email scam that is attempting to trick people into handing over their passwords.

The email claims to be from Facebook and carries the subject line:

Facebook Password Reset Confirmation! Customer Support

When you open the email it informs you that your password has been reset and asks you to click on a link to change it.

However this link will install spyware on your PC that is capable of stealing usernames and passwords relating to all sorts of websites, including financial ones.

The sheer size of Facebook is acting as a magnet to cybercriminals. With so many people logged in at any one time the chances of these sorts of scams working out are high.

A successful phishing scam would only need to work on 5% of Facebook users to bag the thieves around 20 million passwords.

McAfee warns that email is becoming “the preferred method for targeting attacks against individual users, corporations and government institutions.”

And with so many people joining Facebook who are new to the whole PC process – mum, dads and grandparents getting online for the first time to keep in touch with friends and family – a situation has arisen where, with so many people simply unaware of the dangers out there, a fertile hunting ground for cybercriminals has evolved.

Although some antivirus products have anti-phishing features on them, not all do; it is recommended that you check yours to make sure you are pre-warned by your security software.

Image credit: ToastyKen