Porn tagging scam leaves Facebook users red faced
Many Facebook users have received angry messages from friends after finding out they tagged them in an explicit video - but rest assured, it was not them but a scam.
IF you’ve been tagged in a pornographic video from someone you never expected, rest assured that it is a scam and that the person who supposedly tagged you had nothing to do with it.
In the past week many statuses on the social media platform revolved around scorning those who dared to tag them in these adult videos.
According to an article by Mail Online, the scam works by tagging no more than 20 friends. The post is typically a video designed to lure the victim to click on it, and once a victim clicks on a link they’re prompted to ‘update Flash Player’, but the virus then takes control of a device and installs other malicious files and once infected and the victim inadvertently posts the link to their own Facebook feeds, tagging another 20 people.
This scam has been named ‘Magnet’ because it attracts and lures people to it. According to an expert in the industry, the malware also has the potential to take over a person’s mouse and keyboard in addition to their operating system.
The implications of the scam have affected many Facebook users. One user, who did not want to be named, said she was extremely embarrassed as she had clients, colleagues and mothers from her daughter’s school on her Facebook profile.
Another user also landed in hot water with a colleague, who was convinced he had tagged him in the explicit post.
If you are worried about a post a friend tagged you in, do not open it until you have verified that your friend tagged you.
