Don't take that survey: polling scams more harmful than you think

You may not realize it, but the seemingly harmless survey scams asking for your mobile phone number may be more damaging than you think - and they're on the rise. Computer security firm Trend Micro said these scams, which pop up on social sites like Facebook, use various lures like Google+ invites and free movie tickets. "As we’ve known from past instances of this threat, what happens when the user enters their phone number is that they get subscribed to certain services without their permission, causing them additional charges to their phone bill on a daily basis," it said in a blog post. "With the growing dependency of users both on mobile devices and social media, it is not surprising to see threats such as this one, wherein the vector used, is a different platform from the one that will be ultimately affected," it added. One of the latest survey scams is one on a Facebook page claiming to be a Starbucks promo page, and offering people free coffee. But clicking the link on the page opens a new browser window, which connects to a site that triggers a series of redirections. The user is then finally led to a survey site, which asks for the user’s mobile number. It turned out the website was registered under ENOM Inc, "a registrar known to be used by cybercriminals. It was created in 2008, and its registration expires in 2012." "Based on its website information, it specifically targets mobile users, as the most used keywords for the site include the words ringtones, polyphonic ringtones, as well as screensavers, and wallpapers. Based on this, it is highly likely that the same guys behind this site are the same ones behind the survey scams being seen around Facebook," Trend Micro said. Trend Micro said this scheme is similar to premium service abusers who leave unwanted charges in their phone bill. "Survey scams rely mostly on social engineering, but nevertheless leads to the same result," it said. — TJD, GMA News