Just when you thought it was save to open Facebook emails, a new virus with rogue anti-spyware is on the prowl.
Reports are coming in that a fake Facebook email is being spammed to users across the globe. The email contains an attachment that wants to reset your password (this should be your first sign that it’s not a legitimate Facebook email – nor should you ever open an attachment from a suspicious email of any kind).
Seems harmless enough, right? The bad part is, once you open that attachment, all sorts of bad stuff starts happening. A virus will instantly infect your computer and do a couple of things:
- Rogue antispyware will be installed. This is the fake antispyware that pretends to find real threats then have you buy their “software” to fix the problem. Don’t. It’s all a scam to get your money or worse – steal your identity.
- This nasty virus will then use your computer to start mass-spamming other people to change their Facebook passwords as well. Clever, but could mean bad news for you. Your ISP could shut off your internet or worse.
Once you open this attachment, you can’t stop it. It gets past your firewall and sandbox testing with ease, say anti-spyware experts. If you see this email, don’t open it. Delete it right away.
Facebook offers some safety tips for its users, but in general, if you didn’t request a password reset from Facebook, then you know any emails coming from Facebook requiring a reset are fake. Plus, Facebook and any other password reset program I’ve ever seen never include an attachment. It just doesn’t work that way.