Users who receive e-mails that appear to come from Facebook asking if they’d like to cancel their accounts should beware that it’s more than likely an attempt to install malware on their computers.
According to reports from ZDNet and Sophos, there’s been a rash of Facebook-centric e-mails making the rounds online as of late, including one that asks users to follow a link to confirm or cancel requests to delete their account.
If followed, the link takes users to a third-party Facebook application that will download a Java applet to their computer. Even if the user ignores the app, it will reportedly continue to harass them to allow it – and when they do, in turn, it will trigger a fake Adobe Flash update message. Once users download the update, they’ll unsuspectingly install a backdoor Trojan to their computer, allowing attackers to monitor their activities and remotely access their computer.
Malware distributed through the recently-gone-public social media site is certainly nothing new. Hackers have used Facebook to exploit users via like-jacking, virus-tainted spam and countless other techniques that aim to wrestle users’ sensitive information away from them since the site’s inception.
