Facebook scams
After chatting with her sister on Facebook, 58-year-old Edythe Schumacher was convinced to apply for a shoo-in government grant that would pay big dividends. The problem? The message wasn't from her sister at all.
In September, Facebook posts began to spread word that Lady Gaga was found dead in a hotel room. The posts claimed to link to a reputable news source and prompted viewers to "like" the link.
Taking advantage of the world's fixation on the March 2011 tsunami that hit Japan, scammers promised video footage of a wave slamming a whale into the side of a building.
In early 2010, Facebook members around the world signed up to win a $1,000 Ikea gift card being publicized on the site. They traded personal information for a chance at a sweepstakes that never was.
Fans of gross-out footage were tempted to click on a Facebook link with OMG -style video of a massive spider growing under a woman's skin.
A New Yorker, going by the name "Dylan Sorvino," wooed women across the country using the photo of a fallen U.S. Army Ranger in place of his own image.
Hackers created photo albums of Olive Garden entrées and tagged the photos with the names of Facebook users' actual friends, enticing users to join them for a free Italian meal.
