Have you seen a message on your Facebook wall claiming that “anyone can see things from people who are not in their contacts list“? This rumor says that if a friend of yours comments on one of your status updates or posts, it will become visible to all of their friends too.
Thankfully, this is not true.
Read on, and we’ll explain why this rumor is untrue, how to make sure your privacy settings are right, and give you some advice on how to recognizing and avoid Facebook scams.
Why the rumor/scam is wrong, and how to check your privacy settings
While there are a few variations of the scam, over the past year you may have seen a status update similar to this:
This viral Facebook comment is playing on people’s privacy fears. The truth is that you control who sees your Facebook posts, and it doesn’t matter if your friends comment on it.
When you write a post, only you can set who is able to see it, and no-one can change that
If you set your post to ‘Friends’, no-one else will be able to see it. It’s that simple. This is true for photos, and indeed anything you share on Facebook.
How to recognize scams (and mistaken rumors)
Here are some tell-tale signs to look out for on Facebook
- A post asks you to repost the text. This is a classic spamming tactic
- There are complex and unusual instructions to follow. Facebook, like many services, tries to be as simple to use as possible.
- The language is unusual for your friends. You should be able to recognize how your friends talk, so if they are talking out of character, watch out!
- If you click on a link or video and it takes you to a page asking for your permission to access your data. You should not have to give permission for viewing an article or video, so it’s best not to agree (unless it’s a trusted source).
- A shared post that claims you can see “who has visited your profile page by clicking here”. This is impossible, and clicking the link will take you to ad-infested sites, and probably encourage you re-post the scam message yourself.
- After clicking a link you are taken to a site outside Facebook that asks you to install an app. Unless it is a source you trust, do not agree to installing an app in Facebook. While you can uninstall them in Facebook’s App settings, the chances are by that time, the app will have already spammed your friends with its bogus message
Have you seen any other Facebook scams or bogus rumors?
[via OnSoftware ES]
