The Sims 5626

March 23 Update: Another variant of the Sims scam is appearing. The numbers will change from person to person, (i.e., Sims 9242, Sims 3876) but the app name is now appearing as “game-simulation” as in http://apps.facebook.com/game-simulation/ and oddly, the non-working link of http://apps.facebook.com//. This is likely a bad cut and paste.

The Sims scam has made the rounds lately on Facebook. It works exactly like the “Who is checking my profile?” scam I wrote about yesterday. An album appears on the member’s Photos tab with numerous screenshots of the Sims, as if they were screens taken from the game. This is common on Facebook. A number of the Zynga games, including Farmville and Fishville have album creation capabilities.

Notice the anomalies however, that distinguish it from being an actual Sims game on Facebook.

1. The title is always,”Let’s enjoy this game and be one of us.” The broken English should be a giveaway. EA Games would never allow that.
2. The “girls fighting in underwear” screenshot is common. There are four screens that I have come across in this scam, but this one is the most prevalent.
3. Sims 5626. In other words, not The Sims. Author is “Joe Caba”, not EA Games. Joe Caba, by the way, is not a member of Facebook. I checked.
4. Lastly, the ever present, “Try it, really works!!” comment rears its ugly head once again.

TIP: Always check first, if it was a friend who tagged you in a photo before adding any applications. Never assume because a screenshot of a game was used, that the app is from the actual game. It only takes 30 seconds to Google “The Sims” and find out that the Sims is made by EA, not Joe Caba.

Who is checking my profile?

The first scam in this series is the “Who is checking my profile?” scam. It looks innocent enough. A graphic made up of friends’ avatars and below it, their names tagged.

Clicking to add the app yourself will screw you beyond belief. It will, like any Facebook app, ask for permission to have access your data, but rather than safely use the data for normal usage like, “Hey it’s your birthday,” it proceeds to steal your personal info. Identity theft via social media. This is especially dangerous if you are using Facebook credits for games (like Farmville) as your bank or credit card info is now in the hands of the scammers.

Notice in the enlarged image the first comment: “Try it, really works!” This comment is consistent within this scam. The comment is then followed by a link to an app that seems like gibberish. A legitimate app would have a URL that mentions the app’s name.

TIP: If you see that you’ve been tagged in a photo, before clicking, see if it’s a friend of yours. If not, do not click. Ignore. If it is a friend, click through only to see the image. If it’s not a photo of you, leave the page or report it. It’s likely this scam, or one similar.