Mario Kart on Facebook? Fast-spreading scam hits many users' accounts

    A scam claiming that you can play Mario Kart on Facebook has spread between many Facebook users.

Play Mario Kart on Facebook with your Friends! Join the multiplayer mayhem NOW! Click here to play

          The messages do not just take the form of public status updates, but have also been distributed via private messages:

          If you click on the link (no, not that sort of Link..) you will end up on a webpage which urges you to join the game.

          Unfortunately as soon as you press "Play Now" you'll not find yourself in the middle of a fast-moving road race with all your favourite Nintendo characters, but instead urged to complete an online survey or competition.

(Note: Some people have reported that this webpage attempts to trick the user into installing a browser extension - clearly under the circumstances that is not to be recommended).

When I tried one of the surveys from my Facebook test account, I was given the opportunity to "win" an iPhone 5. iPhone 5? Did someone forget to send the scammers the memo? The iPhone 5 doesn't even exist yet.

          Unfortunately, Facebook's built-in security systems don't appear to be blocking this scam at this time - giving it plenty of breathing space to trick as many users as possible into taking the online competitions.

         

          And, of course, the more traffic the scammers send to the online surveys and puzzles, the more commission they earn. And the more spam Facebook users find filling up their walls and inboxes.

If you were fooled into participating in this scam remove the message from your newsfeed, and delete any messages you may have inadvertently shared with your friends. That way at least you are no longer spreading it with your online chums.

Posted in: Facebook scams