Welcome back to an all new
#TechTuesdays! It’s been a while since we brightened up your weeks with the latest technology news, so there’s no better way to get back into it than with this dangerous cat!
I know what you’re thinking:
The only thing dangerous about that cat is how adorable it is!
But any picture like this (or of children who beat cancer asking for likes; or of World War II vets asking for likes) is probably part of a popular Facebook scam called “
like-farming.”
The scam has been around for quite some time now but, if my own newsfeed is any indication, it’s beginning to become more prevalent. Unfortunately, the motivations behind it are a bit more malicious than an unhealthy mix of boredom and loneliness – so let’s find out how to prevent it from happening to you.
What is Like-Farming?
The concept behind like-farming is simple. It goes a little like this:
- Put up a post designed to get a huge number of likes and shares.
- Once the post has enough likes (and grows popular), the owner changes the core content of the original post to something entirely different
- The scammer then waits for some users to buy the new spammed products, fill out their information in a fake survey, etc.
- The scammer sells the new information (and, in some cases, credit card details) for immense profit
If you want any further proof, go look through your history of liked posts. I’m willing to bet that there’s at least one page there that an order from the president couldn’t compel you to like!
How Can I avoid Being Farmed?
Well, let’s be realistic here, you’re probably not going to stop liking things on Facebook altogether. Luckily, once you know what’s going on, it can be pretty easy to spot the scams among the posts that really are there just to show off the adorable cats.
Here’s some of the common traits that you should look out for:
- If the post is asking for you to like or share it: There are some legitimate reasons to do this (e.g. finding a rescue dog a home), but the potential for abuse is very high. If you’re not sure, check out the source page and see if it’s made by a legitimate company.
- It’s a brainteaser that asks you to post the answer in the comment section: To this day, I can’t think of any valid reason for a hundred people to post the same thing in the comments.
- If the posts say that it will give away a prize to people that like it: It won’t.
There you have it folks, you’re now ready to give your like to the posts that earned them. And be careful, even though this is most common on Facebook, I’ve been seeing the same trend popping up on Linkedin as well.
Until next Tuesday!
