I’m shocked this Facebook scam is still going strong. It’s been popping up with slight versions over the past year. By now most of you are savvy to emails claiming you’ve won money or need to verify your credit card info. You know scams are on the rise and clicking links in phishy emails like those might not be the smartest thing to do. Yet when it comes to Facebook and the chance to see who is viewing your profile, people still click.
It would be cool to know who’s checking you out. It would also be an invasion of privacy, and for an app to do that would violate Facebook’s terms of service. In fact, the data needed to make an app that spies, stalks or creeps isn’t even made available to developers. That being said, there will never be an app that allows you to see who is viewing your profile. Period. Any links that claim to do this will always be a scam.
These Facebook scams all work the same way. Clicking the app will launch the standard “Request for Permission” popup window. By clicking “Allow” you give the app access to all of your basic information. That means your name, picture, gender, friends and everything else you have shared. In the end you won’t find out who is viewing your profile. You will be shocked though because it will be your profile that is viewed—by a hacker who just stole all of your personal data.
The app also spreads itself to all of your friends, spamming their walls with the link giving them the chance to see who is viewing their profile too.
If you have made an oops, you can at least stop the problem from getting worse. First remove all mentions from your news feed. Then remove the app from your account. To do this:
- Go to your Privacy Settings
- Find “Apps and Websites” and click “Edit Settings”
- Find “Apps you use” and click “Edit Settings”
- Remove the app from the list and you’re done. No more scam spreading!
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