Facebook Pastors Get Phished: Tips to Avoid, Repair

As increasing numbers of pastors are using Facebook, they are discovering it’s easy to become a victim of “phishing,” or the compromising of their account for spam purposes.

Phishing occurs when Facebook users unwittingly enter their usernames and passwords into unsecure Web-page logins. The faux Facebook log-in page will probably look exactly like the real one, but the URL will be different. Essentially, by entering information on the phishing page, pastors are giving access to their real accounts to automated (or human) spammers, who will then send a barrage of spam-ridden – and usually inappropriate – messages or wall posts to the friends of the compromised account. Imagine a 16 year old girl who logs into Facebook and sees that his youth pastor signed her wall with, “Hi, I think ur a cutie. Check out my pics here” followed by a link.

If the inappropriate-communication factor isn’t enough, the 16 year old can be phished, as well, if she clicks on the link. More than likely, the link will take her browser to the phishing page, making her think that she accidentally logged out. She will enter her log-in information to the phishing page, and now her account is compromised.

The following tips will help you prevent phishing or clean up your account if you’re infected:

• If messages or wall postings don’t seem appropriate for the source, don’t click on any links in the message. If you click accidentally, don’t enter information on the new page.
• When logging in, make sure the URL is legitimate. Common phishing pages have URL with a forward slash ( / ) to the left of the word “Facebook.” In general, any URL that ends in "facebook.com" without the forward slash is probably safe. If you’re not sure, don’t enter your login information. Instead, close the window and try again.
• If your account is infected, simply change your password. The spammers can no longer use the info they acquired to enter your account.
• In Facebook, join the group “Facebook Phishing Scam Awareness.”

Source:

Digital @ Leadership Network: Facebook Phishing Scams Hook Pastors

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