Facebook video chat may draw spammers -Sophos Security

Facebook's new Skype-powered video chat may be a great way for users to keep in touch, but it can also be a potential boon for spammers too, a computer security firm warned Thursday. Sophos advised Facebook users to be wary of scammers who may resurrect old scams by using the social networking juggernaut's newest feature. "Don't let your guard down just because you're video calling directly from Facebook, where you're used to having fun. In particular, review who your friends are," Sophos head of technology for Asia Pacific Paul Ducklin said in a blog post. He particularly warned of calls from hijacked accounts or from borderline "friends." Among the scams Facebook users may have to look out for are the "Stranded" scams where a "friend" claims he lost everything during a foreign trip and need $1,000 to be wired via cash transfer. "Voices can be hard to recognise reliably on poor-quality links, and video may be unrecognizable," Ducklin said. Ducklin said another possible scam involves fake support or emergency calls from callers supposedly "from Facebook" or "with Skype." He said Facebook users in such cases should find alternative channels to contact their real friends to see if they are really in trouble. "Scammers must be licking their lips at a low-cost way of getting literally in your face. Old scams have a way of seeming new and unexpected when they migrate to a new medium," he said. — TJD, GMA News