The Official Blog of AREA203 Digital

Security blog Barracuda Labs recently published an infographic with information on a new analytical study on Facebook profiles. The study focuses on real users versus fake profiles with the goal of defining the signifiers of a malware-purposed account.

What Sets Fake Profiles Apart?

There are a few dominant characteristics that set fake profiles apart from those set up by legitimate users. Fake profiles are 97 percent female with an average of 726 friends, 43 percent of these accounts have never updated their statuses. Most notably, almost all fake Facebook profiles include self-shot bathroom mirror pictures, which is just kind of funny.

Can you guess which friend request is fake?

Identify The Red Flags

On average, 85 percent of Facebook users have updated their status at least once, maintaining an average of 130 friends.

You might think that this information suggests we never accept friend requests from popular women. This is not a rational conclusion. Instead, ask yourself a few questions when confronted with a questionable friend request.

• Do you know this person?
• Does he or she have any connection to you?
• Has this person updated his or her status, had normal Facebook interactions or uploaded more than a handful of questionable profile pictures?

If you don’t know—or have any connection to—this person, or if his or her Facebook page or profile includes several of these questionable characteristics, then you probably shouldn’t accept a friend request. Don’t worry, though; he or she is not your friend anyway.

Also of concern when focusing on fake Facebook accounts are the annoyances that can be sent to your personal accounts outside of social networking. Take a look at this Facebook friend request sent in a real email:

It looks Real Enough, Right?

Well, no, it’s completely fake. According to Alex Webly, the above image is a screen shot from a fake friend request email. This is a real-world example of how fake friends on Facebook can be troublesome. Where do you think your browser would navigate if you clicked “confirm friend request” in a fake email? Nowhere good, that’s for sure.

Deceptive tactics like these are means of phishing, which thieves use to acquire personal information such as usernames, passwords and credit card information by masquerading as trustworthy sites. The above friend request would likely redirect the user to a site that looks eerily like the Facebook log in screen.

The devil in the details...

The Devil in the Details

You may be asking yourself, “Dave, you’re a hip social media expert. Why are you so concerned with phishing attempts?” Well, the answer is—of course—because I’ve been phished. Yes, even an Internet-savvy youngster such as myself is susceptible to ‘maleficently’ designed phishing sites. From personal experience, I can assure you that reclaiming your profile is a difficult and embarrassing task, especially considering that most of the users on my friends list became victims of spam via whatever devious entity took control of my profile in the first place.

As Facebook begins to further automate our real-life interactions, it’s important to note that the same precautions we take on the street should be taken online. If you won’t accept candy from a stranger, you shouldn’t accept a friend request from one, either. Safeguard yourself, check the details and make sure to never give out personal information unless you are absolutely sure you are giving it to a trustworthy source.

→ David Pemberton, Editor, Social Media + PR, AREA203 Digital; follow… @Dave_Your_Fave