Beware of Facebook IPO Scams

If you are offered exclusive access to subscribe to Facebook’s IPO shares, there’s a good chance that it is a scam.

Symantec Security Response recently spotted a 419 scam message offering a "FACEBOOK (IPO) SUBSCRIPTION PARTNERSHIP PROPOSAL". The use of an all uppercase heading is a common hallmark of such 419 scams.

This scam claims to be sent from a finance firm with offices in multiple locations worldwide. The exact nature of the scam is unclear. The scam mentions loaning money under "soft" or generous terms to buy Facebook shares and then selling them back to the finance firm at a price higher than the original purchase price.

As shown in the screenshot below, a strong indication that it is a scam is the email address which the scammer is soliciting replies to. It is an amateurish-looking address at a common free Web-based email provider. A legitimate company would almost certainly use an email address from its own domain rather than a free Web-based address. The email address and name in the "From" header of the message are also different to the email address and name used in the message body.

 
Given the high profile nature of this IPO, Symantec expects scammers to take advantage of it in the same way that they have taken advantage of previous news stories and events.

For more information on the above, please click this link to the Symantec’s Security Response blog post at http://www.symantec.com/connect/blogs/419-scammers-take-advantage-facebook-ipo

Symantec advises Internet users to follow these best practices to avoid falling prey to similar scams:

• Do not click on suspicious links in email messages.
• Avoid providing any personal information when answering an email.
• Frequently update your security software (such as Norton Internet Security 2012) which protects you from online phishing.

Thanks,

James

For more information please contact:James Curtis
Max Australia
+61 2 9469 5740
james.curtis@maxaustralia.com.au