Another day, another scam to stay on the look out for.
This one uses Apple’s latest gagdet, the iPad, as the bait to lure unsuspecting geeks  idiots Facebook and Twitter users, with scammers attempting to get their hands on your mobile phone so they can sign you up to receive premium rate text messages.
The scam takes the form of a Facebook app (there are various ones out there, and they’re continually getting shut down and popping up), which offers you and your network of friends the chance to get a free iPad as part of a research programme. Of course, there’s no such thing as a free iPad, just a stream of expensive texts coming your way.
The Guardian explains how it works:
The scam pages typically take their intended victims through a three step process:
1) “Become a Fan” of the page; 2) “Invite your friends” to also become fans of the page, and take part in the “special promotion”; 3) “Claim” or “Apply” for your prize. Some of the pages pretend to have thousands of positive comments from other Facebook users claiming that the offer is genuine, Sophos notes.
There’s also a similar scam running on Twitter. This video from internet security firm Sophos explain it all in more detail.
photo credit: MitjaSchneehage