Facebook hoax disguised as plea for beaten boy

A new Facebook hoax is making the rounds, urging users to sharing and re-posting a message about a 14-year-old boy supposedly beaten up by his stepfather. Computer security firm Sophos said some 200,000 Facebook members have been fooled by the scam, which claims Facebook will donate 45 cents to the boy’s surgery for each share and re-post. “Of course, the claim that Facebook is donating money is nonsense. Facebook is doing nothing of the sort - and if it were donating money to a young boy’s surgery they surely would not base it upon the number of times a message or photo was shared," Sophos said in a blog post. It said the message is attached to an image of a young boy’s injured torso, and claims Facebook will donate 45 cents for the cost of life-saving surgery. The sob story said the boy was beaten up while protecting his little sister from being raped. But Sophos noted the message includes no information supporting the story, no link to an official Facebook blog announcing the initiative, and no details on where the boy is. Neither did the message indicate when the incident took place. “(This) means that a hoax chain letter like this can have a life of its own and continue to spread many years after its first appearance," it said. “Facebook is a breeding ground for rumors, hoaxes and chain letters because users find it so easy to forward bogus alerts and poorly-researched warnings on to all of their friends at the click of a mouse," it added. — TJD, GMA News