Facebook Spam Bots are Getting Smarter

Beware, Facebook messages might hack your account!

Hackers are getting more crafty these days. For the past week my Facebook inbox has been bombarded with spam messages. The messages range from 'Hey whats up?' 'Hey long time no chat.' or 'Are you pissed?' The messages will come from a hacked account of a legitimate friend on your friends list. The red flags for me when seeing these messages was: 1 - I've never even spoken to this person. 2 - I received five messages at the same time, from five different people all saying similar or the same thing.

If you've seen these messages, don't reply! In some cases a bot will respond to your message, ultimately trying to get you to click a link that will hack you. It's totally creepy that spam bots have some sort of IQ now!

Hackers are getting into your account in many different ways. A particularly nerve racking technique that is becoming more and more difficult to spot is Clickjacking. Spammers will load a fake icon or button onto a link. For an example, a fake Facebook Like button can be put on a link. When you click the visible button, you're actually clicking through to something else. If you see a story that seems out of place its best to leave it be.

The point is hackers have plenty of ways to get into your account. Hidden among the billions baby photos and selfies, there's bad links, spam apps (news, games etc.) and janky messages. Facebook recommends flagging content you think is spam. You can also embrace their anti-hacking tips.