From time to time we observe various pranks (hoaxes) on Facebook and beyond. We know that most Facebook pranks (we mean posts that go viral despite being useless and inaccurate), aren't actually scams or phishing tricks.
They usually have one of three forms:
- Warnings to beware of something that is supposed to be dangerous that is not going to happen if you do something else.
- Instructions for copying a specific paragraph of false information and republishing it with your name on it.
- Tips on how to control cyber security settings that do nothing but give you a false sense of security.
In the first type of hoax we've occasionally seen posts warning that someone of ours will get hurt if we don't share some text, or warnings about data leaks, hacking accounts and all the evils of the world, which can be corrected only with a simple notification of the hoax.
In the second type, scammers bet that there are desperate people who want more online friends, and it no doubt sounds very appealing to them to trick Facebook algorithms into posting their content to everyone, simply by posting special text.
The third type of prank on the list is probably the worst, because fake security tips can lead well-meaning users to think they are safe.
A prank that was released a lot in 2019, is his prank "BFF” that tells you to type that term into a post as a way to check if Facebook's additional security precautions are enabled on account you.
The prank states that if the text BFF, (short for best courier forever), turns green when you type it in a post, your security is sufficient.
Today the word does not turn green (although it used to), but even if it did, it did not say anything about your security settings.
Many words written on Facebook posts automatically change color, but this is a feature called Text Delights (selected words activate animations such as balloons and thumbs up) and have nothing to do with cyber security.
Where is the damage?
The above messages may be fake, but they do not actually do e-fishing to gather personal information.
Even if it is a message, it seems harmless to you, it prepares you or trains you to accept information without any criticism. And that means you could easily end up with opinions that later turn out to be unacceptable, and wish you had never mentioned them.
Spreading a prank may not matter to you, but ask others who read it. The more you have the habit of transmitting information without checking it and it turns out to be false, the more unreliable you become.
Be careful before you share something and do not let others put words in your mouth.
