Some people were quite ecstatic today, thinking that Facebook finally listened to their pleas by adding a “Dislike” button. Sadly, they were mistaken. Not only has the social networking site not added the oft-requested button – the “news” of it being here is a scam that will wreak havoc on an unsuspecting user’s account.

Well-regarded security firm Sophos has flagged the scam as malicious. It is spreading in the form of links which appear to be from friends on the site, encouraging you to install a Facebook “dislike button.” The offending links will appear on your Wall saying (”I just got the Dislike button, so now I can dislike all of your dumb posts lol!!”. The messages aren’t really from your friends, of course. They’re automated messages from those who have already been duped.

The scam’s purpose is to force users to complete a survey contained in the app. Other than tricking you into completing a survey and gaining access to your profile (including the ability to spam your friends without your consent), there isn’t anything malicious or dangerous, thankfully. After a person completes the survey, they are redirected to the FaceMod site – a company who has created a Facebook-type of Dislike button. This button isn’t part of Facebook itself, though. It is simply a Firefox plugin. The scam does NOT appear to have any ties to FaceMod itself.

Graham Cluley (of Sophos) said it was the latest in a series of “survey scams” that included links to a video purporting to show an anaconda vomiting up a hippo. “Many people are giving permission for completely unknown apps,” Mr Cluley told BBC News. The surveys appear to be from genuine companies, he said. “As far as we can tell, they appear to be legitimate,” he said. “It could be that the firms are not policing their affiliates properly.”

Always be cautious when ANY type of message appears on your Facebook Wall with links to something that doesn’t seem quite “right.” Never give permission for unknown apps to access your account information.

via ChrisPirillo