Elliott C. Back: Internet & Technology

So I got this unwanted piece of MSN spam (from a friend who has now changed their MSN password):

(10:40:23 AM) ZZZ: You are not going to believe this!! FreakyLoving.com , you HAVE to go there and tell me what your results are!
(10:40:36 AM) ZZZ has signed off.

I went to the site, and indeed it’s a typical MSN virus scam:

* TERMS AND CONDITIONS
I agree and acknowledge that I am subscribing to Impression Media’s Text Alert subscription service, either by entering my cell phone number and the PIN Code that was sent to the cell phone supplied by you on this website and clicking the “Submit” button, or by replying to the text message sent by Impression Media to such cell phone with the word “YES”, pursuant to which I will receive a text alert three times per week. I am also confirming that I have read and understood the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy, and I agree to be legally bound by the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy. I represent that (1) I am at least eighteen (18) years of age AND (2) I am of legal age to agree to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy, or I have my parent’s permission to use and register on this website. Please note that you must be 18 or older in the State of Florida to participate in this offer. I understand that I will be charged a fee for the service of $9.99 per month if my carrier is AT&T, VERIZON WIRELESS, T-MOBILE, SPRINT PCS, CELLULAR ONE, NEXTEL AND CINCINNATI BELL. $6.99 per month if my carrier is BOOST, VIRGIN MOBILE USA AND U.S. CELLULAR. This fee will be billed to, or deducted from, the mobile account or the prepaid balance I identified until I send “STOP” to 51345 to cancel subscription, and I confirm that I hold the account corresponding to the mobile phone number that I have entered, or that I have the account holder’s permission to use this service and incur this fee. Unused credits will not be rolled over to next month. Message and data rates may apply. To cancel your subscription, text message the word “STOP” to 51345 at anytime. For customer support, please send e-mail to care@quiz4now.com or call 1866 285 4637. Send HELP to 51345 for more info.

If you sign up, they will charge you $10 / month until you figure it out and cancel. Lame! There are a couple other posts at WC Replays and Casual Discourse showing interactive chat attempts to direct users to similar URLs. The baddies who are doing this seem to be Las Vegas based Impression Media.

Here are a few ways to tell if someone who has just friended you is really the hot girl you think she is, or rather just a marketing promotion who intends to establish herself as an account and spam you to death. Note: this is a real-life example!

1) All her recent activity is adding friends

Real people tend to do other things that just add friends…

2) You have no friends in common

Most of your real friends in life will know someone in your network. The rule of “6 degrees” aka the birthday paradox makes it extremely unlikely an actual friend doesn’t know at least one of your other friends.

3) You can find their profile pic on Tineye

Cute girl whose profile picture shows up on a “hot spring break party” website? Probably not a real girl…

4) They don’t belong to any networks

If you’re in a college network, it means you have an address @yourcollege.edu that actually works. Even this little bit of verification goes a long way in our age of spam.

I think I’ve been hit by the latest lame Facebook virus-like application! It’s called suspicious activity log, and it’s designed to trick people into approving it by sending an official-looking message to as many friends as it can indicating that their “profiles have been reported as terms of service (tos) violations.” Here’s a screenie of the notification it posted to me:

I went to the application page, and this is what I got:

The Facebook “friend” who was stupid enough to install this piece of crap malware is no longer my Facebook “friend.” Fortunately, I’ve never met him in real life, so the pain to my heart is minimal!