Rocket Fuel #038 - Protect Yourself and Your Facebook Page from Virus Scams (Internet IQ)
Read time: 3 minutes
Welcome back to the weekly Rocket Fuel for Realtors newsletter. Brought to you by Jeremy Ross Miller. Let’s jump in.
I define “Internet IQ” simply as ‘internet smarts’.
“Internet smarts” being:
online marketing
making money online
knowing how to use software and tools
being a good “Googler” and using the resources of the internet
and finally, the ability to clearly see and watch for internet scams and viruses.
Fortunately for you, I am a life-long student of internet smarts! Always watching. Always learning.
Small brag: In 2017, I graduated High-School, but just before I did that, Forbes did a full interview on me. And a quote of mine that many people resonated with is:
“Be a student of the world, and not only a student of the classroom.”
After you graduate college (or high-school for me since I didn’t go to college) and after you pass your real estate license exam, the learning doesn’t have to stop. Because with the rapid change in our world - we have to be willing to adapt and be vigilant.
Imho, one year spent not learning will set you back five years.
Today we’ll be talking about a popular Facebook page virus that is quite prolific at the moment.
I have managing access to over 25 Facebook Pages and Businesses Suites. I am seeing this virus attempt to come after some of these pages. So of the ~350 of the Realtors who read this, some of you might have seen this.
Here’s how the “scam virus” looks:
If you see this notification, totally disregard it. It’s not from Facebook. It will lead to the your page being hacked.
The scammer named their account “immediately perform account recovery” with a different font to make it look like a notification message from Facebook.
And then of course, they made their Facebook profile picture a “caution symbol”.
Facebook will never send you a message like this.
If you want to read a comprehensive deep dive on where to find authentic messages from Facebook and how to spot viruses, read this article from PC Magazine, “Is This Facebook Email a Fake?”
The reality is, once we all start to catch on to the current trick (the picture above) the scammers will find another method to trick people. Unfortunately, there are always new scams and viruses coming out. Stay Vigilant!
The Current Most Personal Scam and Virus On Facebook:
Never, ever, ever, ever open links in FB messenger unless you can see you’ve very recently exchanged messages with that person on Messenger and you KNOW it was them.
Look at the Facebook profile and view the activity. If there’s barely no activity and only updated profile pictures - DO NOT click the link.
> No one is attracted to you like that (it’s just a bot)
> Bots and scammers can easily create fake profiles mimicking your friends, then they’ll message you, and you’ll click on the link because “it looks like your facebook friend
> Bots and scammers will only get smarter and smarter as each day passes
BONUS: Do Not Destroy Your Instagram Account With This Instagram Scam
I promise you. It will never be worth it to buy followers, views, or engagement. It’s never real. It’s always going to be bots.
Here’s a common message I receive:
Do not believe them. They will often “guarantee” authentic and real followers or likes. It’s never real.
The worst part: Not only will you waste your money. You will get shadow banned on Instagram. Instagram is very aware when an account randomly starts receiving an influx of followers or engagement. Instagram is not dumb. And they don’t want accounts to be lying about how many followers they have.
What is shadow banning?
Shadow banning is when your posts will be strongly hidden in your followers feed. Instagram is putting you in the dark. In the shadows. By buying fake followers or engagement, you are telling Instagram that you don’t want to put real effort into creating an engaging Instagram account for your followers.
This hurts the overall experience of Instagram. So they will punish you.
That’s all for this week. Please forward and share this newsletter to whom you think it would be valuable. If you liked the newsletter, but aren’t already subscribed, make sure you subscribe! It’s FREE!
PS.
If you’re looking to grow your business with social media, let’s talk. Schedule a Discovery call with me here: Book A Discovery Call!
I’ll help craft a plan for you. And if it makes sense to work together, we’ll explore that. Do not now rather than later. It’s time to build!