Tag Archives: Social Media

Help! Facebook Spam Messages

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Wow, that many people have viewed my profile on Google? Or wait…is it YouTube?

If you have received a private message on Facebook from a friend (and it could be a friend you trust!) with a video that says you’ve received an outrageous amount of views on Google or YouTube (or any other site) with your name on it, they all have one thing in common:

These messages are bogus

I have received several of these in the last few months, here is what they look like:

Look, ma, I’m famous! 595,902 views!! Or…not. This is just a clever phishing scam to get you to click on the link. It’s pretty enticing, right? DON’T DO IT!

What Happens When You Click On The Link:

The message is a scam. There is no video. If you click the link, you will be taken to a fake website designed to look like a Facebook login page.

“What is the harm in that”, you ask? This fake page, asks you to log into Facebook again. It looks identical to Facebook, but it isn’t Facebook. If you login through this page, the scammers steal your information and hijack your Facebook page. After they do this, they start sending private messages to your entire friend list like the one I’ve shown you in the picture above, with the same link you received. Once they have access to your Facebook page, they can post, send and link apps on your behalf.

Criminals can also use this or similar schemes to trick people into downloading malware or installing other apps and malicious browser plugins.

What Do I Do If My Account Has Been Compromised?

Try to secure your account as quickly as possible. The first step is to change your password. Go through all your security settings. It is quick and easy.

Secondary to that, go through your messages and let your friends know (those who were messaged) not to click on the link).

Facebook has some great help links, it is a good idea to see if anything else has been compromised. Most likely an app has been authorized and needs to be removed from your account. I

If you think yours or your friend’s account has been hacked, you can read more about that on Facebook’s help center here.

Having Social Media “Work for you”

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Social Media has increased in popularity over the last year, especially in terms of businesses adding them into their marketing mix.  In a recent study done by University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing; 49% of Businesses polled in 2008 utilize Social Networking. In 2009 that same group increased to 80%. In that same study they found that in 2009 52% of those businesses utilize Twitter. Interestingly, In 2008 they didn’t even ask about Twitter. So the trend of adopting social media into normal business practices is definitely increasing, but once you have it setup are you executing and maintaining your social media campaign so it works for you?

Most companies that I come across have some sort of social media presence, they just don’t have the time to continually update it or just don’t know how or what to do to make their social media sites work for them. I always tell them to think of your social media sites as an extension of your marketing mix. If you send out a weekly newsletter via email to your customers, well put that same newsletter on your Twitter or Facebook Fan page. If you write a monthly blog, again post that on your social sites as well. All of this helps increase your marketing reach and starts your social media sites working for you. Of course when you do all of this you will want to track your links, but that’s a whole other blog I will get into in the near future.

Remember you aren’t trying to hard sell your fans or followers. Rather, you are trying to build a community, create a “voice” for your company, and become a trusted source of information in your field. When I say “voice” that doesn’t always mean speaking, as it’s very important to listen to your community as well. Why “follow” someone on Twitter if you aren’t interested in what they are posting. If someone you are following posts something interesting or it relates to your business then let them know. Respond back to their posting letting them know you liked it or what your thoughts are on the issue or “ReTweet” so your followers can see the posting or article as well. Trust me, they will most likely return the favor on the “Retweet”, it’s like Twitter etiquette, and if they have a large number of followers well then viola! The power of Twitter is now working for you as all his/her followers can now potentially view your posting and if interested follow you.

These are just a few examples to help your social media campaign work for you. Feel free to shoot us any other questions you might have or follow us at www.twitter.com/TrevNetMedia. Also, let us know what’s working for you we would love to hear your input.