A new colour for your Facebook profile? It's a scam

The ‘Facebook colour changer’ app has already hacked 10,000 people’s Facebook accounts, installing malicious software on their computers. A Facebook app offering to change the colour of Facebook’s profile page and header scams users, hacking into their Facebook account and computer.


The scam tricks users into downloading an app called “Facebook colour changer”, which promises to change the characteristic blue colour of Facebook’s header and interface to one of nine other colours including pink, purple, green, yellow, orange and black.


The app is nothing but a trick to compromise a user’s Facebook account, according to researchers from Chinese internet security firm Cheeta Mobile.


“Once clicked, it leads users to a phishing website,” Cheeta Mobile said in a blogpost. “This issue seems to be happening due to a vulnerability that lives in Facebook’s app page itself, allowing hackers to implant viruses and malicious code into Facebook-based applications directing users to phishing sites.”


Similar colour changer scams have operated on Facebook in the past, exploiting the popular customisation options of sites such as Tumblr and, before it, MySpace, but the revived scam has impacted more than 10,000 people across multiple countries, according to Cheetah Mobile.


Videos, pornography and viruses


The cybercriminals use two methods to attack users who fall for the colour changer scam. The first redirects users to a tutorial video that appears to explain how to use the app. If a user clicks on the video it grants the hackers temporary access to the user’s Facebook account allowing them to see their friends list and other personal information.


The hackers also try and infect the user’s computer or device with malicious software. Malware masquerading as a pornography video player is offered to PC users. Android users are shown a scare message that claims their device is infected with viruses offering to install anti-virus software on to their Android smartphone or tablet, which in turn installs viruses on to the device.


Hacked users who fell for the scam have to un install the “Facebook colour changer” app and immediately change their password to prevent the cyber criminals accessing more of their personal information or using their account to trick friends.


Cheetah Mobile also advises users to turn off Facebook Platform to prevent the app from being installed in the first place, but that would disable all apps currently installed on Facebook as well as preventing users from using Facebook to log into third-party services like Spotify.


The guardian.com