Messages on Facebook offering members the chance to install a 'dislike' button for the site should be avoided, experts say.Facebook members have been warned to avoid a new application for the social networking site that claims to be a 'dislike' button.
Facebook's 'Like' button can be posted on third-party websites and used by members to tell their friends about websites, videos and articles that they've liked.
However, the function is regularly abused by scammers who want to get you to fill in surveys, often by using promises of videos as bait.
The latest variation of the scam tempts Facebook members with a 'dislike' button, supposedly offering you the chance to tell your friends about things that you don't like. However, if you click on any links to the dislike button, you'll end up filling in surveys for unscrupulous marketing companies.
Security experts pointed out that though this scam was similar to a wave of 'likejacking' or 'clickjacking' attacks on Facebook, it actually cons people into clicking because it is Facebook feature that they geniunely want.
"This bogus feature differs from recent scams as those behind it aren't preying on users' curiosity about shocking videos or celebrity scandals. This scam is actually posing as something that many Facebook users want," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos.
Cluley also warned Facebook members to take better care over their security when using the site.
"Giving away personal information in a survey and allowing an application access to your profile is extremely risky and Facebook users need to wise up to this rather than just clicking on links that they see, just because they appear to be from a trusted source."
The dislike button is actually a genuine Firefox add-on made by a company called FaceMod. Cluley said that though the add-on was being used as the bait, FaceMod had nothing to do with the scam.
"If you really want to try out FaceMod's add-on (and note - we're not endorsing it, and haven't verified if it works or not), get it direct from the Firefox Add-ons webpage, not by giving a rogue application permission to access your Facebook profile," said Cluley.
Meanwhile, Facebook has announced that it now has 150 million members who access the site from mobile devices. In all, there are more than 500 million Facebook members worldwide.
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