A Lot to Dislike About New Facebook Scam

A new Facebook scam is taking advantage of people's desire to be able to "dislike" posts by tricking users into completing an online survey and spamming links to their friends.

Sophos blogger Graham Cluley has reported that there is a rogue Facebook application that promises to give you a dislike button but instead "silently updates your Facebook status to promote the link that tricked you in the first place, thus spreading the message virally to your Facebook friends and online contacts."

The app never actually installs a dislike button but does require you to compelte an online survey (which Cluley says "brings money for the scammers") and then points you to a Firefox browser add-on from FaceMod which installs a browser-based dislike button. FaceMod does not appear to be connected with the scam.

Facebook doesn't actually offer or support a dislike button, though it is apparently a frequently requested feature. The service does have a "like button" that lets users indicate their appreciation for posts, groups and other elements on the service.

In a statement, Facebook said "We're working hard to block and remove malicious applications that claim to provide dislike functionality and inadvertently update people's statuses. It's important to keep in mind that there is no official dislike button. Also, don't click on strange links, even if they are from friends, and notify the person and report the link if you see something suspicious. For more information on how to protect your data on Facebook and across the Internet, like the Facebook Security Page"

Fake Dislike Button Scam