Facebook 'Price Grid' Membership Message -- Just a Hoax: Sophos

The cyber world has been getting overpopulated with the Facebook-related hoaxes and rumours since the social networking giant has announced the significant changes to its Open Graph platform, in last week's F8 conference in San Francisco, allowing more sharing than ever before.  

Facebook 'Price Grid' Membership Message -- Just a Hoax: Sophos

Reality of a hoax Facebook message just shared here earlier today while a lot of Facebookers were warned over the weekend against a new scam claiming the Facebook may charge a $9.99 “gold membership" unless users forward a message before midnight.

The message looks like below: 

Facebook Price Grid Hoax Message

And reads like ....

FACEBOOK JUST RELEASED THEIR PRICE GRID FOR MEMBERSHIP. $9.99 PER MONTH FOR GOLD MEMBER SERVICES, $6.99 PER MONTH FOR SILVER MEMBER SERVICES, $3.99 PER MONTH FOR BRONZE MEMBER SERVICES, FREE IF YOU COPY AND PASTE THIS MESSAGE BEFORE MIDNIGHT TONIGHT. WHEN YOU SIGN ON TOMORROW MORNING YOU WILL BE PROMPTED FOR PAYMENT INFO...IT IS OFFICIAL IT WAS EVEN ON THE NEWS. FACEBOOK WILL START CHARGING DUE TO THE NEW PROFILE CHANGES

The message claims that Facebook just released a “price grid" for membership, including $9.99 a month for Gold Member services, $6.99 for Silver Member services, and $3.99 for Bronze Member services. The message further claims that Facebook will continue to be free “IF YOU COPY AND PASTE THIS MESSAGE BEFORE MIDNIGHT TONIGHT"

This tricky hoax has forced many users into “sharing", posting and re-posting, the message with their contacts and friends, just to save themselves from the charges between $3.99 and $9.99 a month.

Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant in Sophos – a well-known computer security firm, said in a blog post:

“It’s amazing what people will believe when they are sent a message from a trusted friend - but let me assure you, Facebook is *not* going to ask you for your payment when you sign onto the site tomorrow morning. And no, the announcement of Facebook beginning to charge its users has *not* been on the news."

Facebook Start Charging Due to New Profile Changes -- Latest Hoax Message Being Circulated in September 2011

Beware! It’s a Cyber World – Facebook Start Charging Due to New Profile Changes: Summary

A message circulating on Facebook states the social network is going to charge its users due to new profile changes. Furthermore, message asks recipient to repost (copy and paste) it on his/her wall to continue using Facebook for free. In the end, message threatens that the account will be deleted for not paying the charges.

Let’s have a look to the message being circulated on Facebook:

Hoax Message: Facebook Start Charging Due to Profile Changes

It reads like ….

IT IS OFFICIAL. IT WAS EVEN ON THE NEWS. FACEBOOK WILL START CHARGING DUE TO THE NEW PROFILE CHANGES. IF YOU COPY THIS ON YOUR WALL YOUR ICON WILL TURN BLUE… … … AND FACEBOOK WILL BE FREE FOR YOU. PLEASE PASS THIS MESSAGE ON, IF NOT YOUR ACCOUNT WILL BE DELETED IF YOU DO NOT PAY

Beware! It’s a Cyber World – Facebook Start Charging Due to New Profile Changes: Explanation

The recent message about Facebook start charging after introducing new profile changes is just a kind of 'Reborn Hoax'. Such message made their way on Facebook many times in the past; but all of those messages proved as ‘HOAX’ like the latest one circulating on social media networks, including Facebook and Twiter, since Facebook announces new features in recent F8 conference in San Francisco.

Facebook itself didn’t take too long to kill this Hoax. The company has made it clear that it has no such plans. 

Facebook Sign Up: It's Free and always will be.

"A rumour on the internet caught our attention. We have no plans to charge for Facebook. It's free and always will be," the company posted on its official page on Facebook, that has over 53 million fans. 

In early 2010, the rumour circulated that Facebook will charge its users$14.99 per month. Once again in July 2011 the message with the same wording, like in the most recent message, was being circulated on Facebook. But both of these messages proved HOAX later on.

Fanbox Promotion/Award Scam -- Fanbox Itself Being Used to Scam Fanbox Users

Beware! Its a Cyber World -- Fanbox Promotion/Award Scam

I shared lot of scams and spam mails on my blog 'Internet Fraud and Cyber Scams'; but today I'm going to share a weird mail/message which I received in my Fanbox inbox. The screen shot of the message is given below:

Screen Shot: Fanbox Promotion/Award Scam Winning Notification

As a member of Fanbox community I use to receive several mails/messages in my Fanbox inbox, which is quite normal activity for Fanbox users and members to communicate with each other.

As soon as I saw the message, I was deadly sure that this is a scam to cheat Fanbox users and members. The popularity of Fanbox is certainly enticing cyber cowboys to utilize their skills in cheating people using this forum. 

Cyber criminals are hunting each and every possibility to exploit innocent internet users and popular forums and platforms are their prime targets.

See the contents of the mail/message and read more on the link provided below:

No Spam, Please

White Gift Box with Blue Lace/Ribbon - Latest Facebook FarmVille Virus Threat Hoax

Beware! It’s a Cyber World – 'White Gift Box with a Blue Ribbon/Lace' Facebook FarmVille Virus Warning: Summary

Message circulating on Facebook users especially among FarmVille online gamers that warns about the threat of a virus associated with the opening of a ‘White Gift Box Tied Up  with Blue Lace’. Further the recipient is being asked to re-post the message on his/her wall to get aware his/her friends on Facebook.

Facebook FarmVille Virus Hoax: White Gift Box with Blue Lace/Ribbon

Before jumping to the explanation and final conclusion; let’s have a look to the contents of the warning message which looks like the one shown below:

Facebook Virus Warning Message Related to Facebook FarmVille White Gift Box

And reads like ….

ATTENTION !!! EVERY FARMVILLE NEIGHBOR - THERE IS A WHITE GIFT BOX ...surrounded by a blue lace. It says "someone has sent you a gift" ... IT ISN'T BEING SENT BY FARMVILLE !!! IT'S A VIRUS!!! PLEASE DO NOT OPEN.. PLEASE COPY A PASTE THIS ON YOUR WALL SO THAT WE CAN ALL PROTECT EACH OTHER...........Very important KEEP IT GOING 

Beware! It’s a Cyber World – 'White Gift Box with a Blue Ribbon/Lace' Facebook FarmVille Virus Warning: Explanation

The warning message penetrating through the masses on Facebook’s FarmVille Players asking to be careful about a possible virus threat linked with the opening of White Gift Box Tied up with Blue Lace. The message in question is like a re-born Facebook hoax that was earlier made inroads among Facebook users in 2010. 

FarmVille is certainly one of the more popular Facebook applications to spread across Facebook, produced by software company Zynga, the same company which has many other hits on its credit such as Mafia Wars. 

You can imagine the popularity of the FarmVille, as a Bulgarian Councillor was sacked in early 2010 because of his addiction to it. According to TELEGRAPH UK; the proposal to remove Dimitar Kerin from his respective municipal committee came from Todor Hristov, a former member of Kerin’s party, who has argued that Kerin “needs more time for his virtual farm.”

Whatever gains popularity on internet; the cyber criminals try to take advantage of it in the form of scams, spam, and hoaxes as it happened in this case last year and still happening with few changes in the warning message.  

Few of the examples of FarmVille related hoax messages spread last year are given below:

1.      White Gift Box With A Blue Ribbon? Farmville virus or hoax?

Published on Naked Security on 9^th June 2010 

2.      The FarmVille ‘Three Spring Eggs’ Virus Hoax

Published on Virus Experts on March 29, 2010.

3.      Facebook FarmVille Group Hoaxes

Published on That’s Nonsense as on 2^nd January, 2010 

Beware! It’s a Cyber World – 'White Gift Box with a Blue Ribbon/Lace' Facebook FarmVille Virus Warning: Conclusion

Same like last year the current virus warning message related to Facebook Farmville has no credible evidence to prove its authenticity. No cyber security company or anti-virus experts have given any hints about such threat. Therefore, the recent message is also a baseless HOAX and should not be re-posted.