Facebook get rich quick scam busted

Reuters

SCAM ADS: Facebook says it has removed ads for a get rich quick scam that appeared for weeks on the social networking site before it discovered the ruse following reports from defrauded users.

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Facebook says it has removed ads for a get rich quick scam that appeared for weeks on the social networking site before it discovered the ruse.

Reports from defrauded users had tipped Facebook off.

But some users have reported that, despite Facebook's assurances, some of the ads remain on the site and are being re-published at a rate faster than the site can review and remove them.

The ads - complete with bogus testimonials - purported to make Facebook users rich if they simply signed up to post links under a "Google advertising" programme.

Clicking on the link in the ads took people to another page, run by a company dubbed "EMillionaire", which invites users to submit their details to see if they are eligible to take part in the programme.

The details included credit or debit card information as those interested in the scheme would have to pay US$1.90 to take part.

But the entire venture is a scam with no ties to Google, designed to trick people into handing over their banking details.

Two affected users who published warnings on the RipOffReport.com website said they were immediately charged US$197 by a company called "Marquilife".

Calls to the company requesting a refund proved fruitless.

The ordeal has called into question Facebook's ad vetting systems, which should have discovered the scam before the ads were accepted.

In a statement, Facebook said it encouraged users to report any advertisements they find offensive or misleading. All reports were followed up by a dedicated team.

"In this case, users informed us about misleading offers in many ads with promotions related to working at home," Facebook said.

"We have removed ads with these types of misleading offers as they were brought to our attention."

- © Fairfax NZ News