Facebook users, beware! Internet security experts have just identified a new phishing attack on the social networking site. Mischief mongers on cyber space are impersonating as the site’s security team, crawling into the network using hijacked accounts.

Once the account is compromised, it is used to send out a message to all contacts, warning them that someone has reported a problem with their accounts and they will be turned off unless re-confirmed by the account holder.

“They are posing as social network’s security team and tricking users into divulging credit card numbers,” Mr David Jacoby, a security expert at the Russian Internet security firm Kaspersky, says.

“The attackers also use the stolen information to log into the person's account and swap the profile picture with a Facebook logo and change the name to Facebook Security,” he warns.

“Within the message is a link that takes victims to a Web sited dressed to look very similar to a Facebook page.

Once on the Web site, the cyber criminals ask for name, e-mail, password, webmail system and password to e-mail. With this information, the attackers can compromise more Facebook accounts,” Kaspersky points out.

After victims have inputted their personal information, they are asked to provide credit card numbers for verification purposes and to purchase ‘Facebook credits’

>kurmanath@thehindu.co.in

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