We've all seen them….. the Facebook
posts asking us to ‘Like’ a story about a bully who stood up for himself - or a
brother who wants ‘Likes’ so his Down Syndrome sister will know she’s beautiful
- or an inspirational quote asking you to ‘Like’ if you want world peace. How about Apple has found a pile of iPhones in
the back of a factory and if you Like that particular ‘Apple’ Page you’ll get
one! Or click on this photo, comment
within 10 seconds and watch what happens!
Who wouldn't ‘Like’ those posts?
Actually, none of us should be ‘Liking’ them!
All those posts are just a few of the
many I've seen my friends Like in the past month.
‘Like Farming’ is a Facebook scam that
has been around for a few years, but lately it seems to be seeing a resurgence –
with my friends anyway.
How does this scam work?
- A Facebook Page is created
- Scam posts are created – something tragic or inspirational (usually using stolen photos) asking you to Like, Comment or Share the post, or page
- The Page creators share their posts among Facebook users with high profiles, which means the posts gradually work their way around the world via Facebook
- People start liking, commenting and sharing
It doesn't take long before those posts
are being Liked all over the world and that Page is getting quite a bit of
exposure, because as you know, the more Likes, Shares and Comments a Page gets,
the higher its ranking with Facebook and the more often its posts will appear
in News Feeds.
That Facebook Page is then sold for big
money, to a buyer who now has a ready-made list of potential clients. The Page is altered to suit the new owner – a
new About, new cover photo - and that new owner then starts creating their scam
posts, and the cycle starts again.
How do you know if a post is a
scam? One giveaway is the number of
Likes – when I see a post has 200,000 or so Likes I figure it doesn't need
mine! If you’re not sure if it’s a scam
try copying a chunk of the post into Google and see what comes up, or go to the
Scam Watch page on www.facecrooks.com
and you’ll find a list of the latest scams.
Next time you're about to automatically 'Like' a post or a page - STOP and think - what are you really Liking?
Great post Margaret. I shared it to Twitter and FB. I already smelt a rat but thanks for explaining it.
ReplyDeleteCarolyn
Thank you for the shares Carolyn. I've had so many friends Liking happily away and not realising what they are doing - especially the free iPhone one. Margaret
Deleteahhhhh I have been wondering about these. Thanks Margaret! xx
ReplyDeleteHi Sonia, I just had to write about it - every day I'd see more of the mums from school Liking these posts. The worst ones are where they've stolen a photo from a family's legitimate post - usually about something tragic, and added their own wording to it claiming the photo is their own. One Aussie Mum I know had an entire new FB Page created by someone (just using her first name as the page name) and used photos of her kids taken from her own FB page to create the basis for their Like Farming page. Thankfully FB stopped that one. Thanks for the share. Margaret
DeleteOr click on this photo, comment within 10 seconds and pirater un compte facebook watch what happens! Who wouldn't ‘Like’ those posts? Actually, none of us should be ‘Liking’ them!
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteWe've all seen them….. the Facebook posts asking us to ‘Like’ a story about a bully who stood up for himself - or a brother who wants ‘Likes’ 3000 Plus Real High Quality Facebook Likes
So true, but they just draw people in by the thousands - everyone wants to stick up for the underdog and show they support them - but Facebook 'liking' is not the way.
Delete
ReplyDeleteActually, none of us should be ‘Liking’ them!
All those posts are just a few of the many I've seen my friends Like in the past month. 3000 Plus Real High Quality Facebook Likes
Thanks for this post, Facebook is my bug-bear at the moment so I am glad you have shed some light on the subject xx
ReplyDeleteThanks Lisa, I've just seen a resurgence of these post in the last week.
ReplyDeleteOh I do hate seeing those pics pop up in my feed and I cant believe that people still fall for it. Thanks for linking up hun xx
ReplyDeleteSo good to know. I never like or share these types of posts but its amazing how many people think everything they see is true and real. Found you via Life, Love link up.
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