'Mario Kart' Facebook scam warning out

Gamers, beware. An offer claiming you can play “Mario Kart" on social networking site Facebook is nothing but a fast-spreading scam. Computer security firm Sophos said the new Facebook scam takes the form not just of public status updates but also of private messages. “If you click on the link you will end up on a webpage which urges you to join the game. Unfortunately as soon as you press ‘Play Now’ you’ll not find yourself in the middle of a fast-moving road race with all your favorite Nintendo characters, but instead urged to complete an online survey or competition," Sophos said in a blog post. Sophos said the message invites a potential victim to “Play Mario Kart on Facebook with your Friends! Join the multiplayer mayhem NOW! Click here to play." It also said some people have reported the webpage they were led to even attempts to trick them into installing a browser extension. One of the surveys even offered victims the chance to “win" a nonexistent Apple iPhone 5. “Unfortunately, Facebook’s built-in security systems don’t appear to be blocking this scam at this time - giving it plenty of breathing space to trick as many users as possible into taking the online competitions," Sophos said. It added the more traffic the scammers send to the online surveys and puzzles, the more commission they earn. And the more spam Facebook users find filling up their walls and inboxes. Sophos advised recipients of the scam messages to remove the message from their newsfeed, and delete any messages they may have inadvertently shared with friends. — TJD, GMA News