Facebook Threats Becoming Increasingly Complex

WHAT/WHY:

Facebook, and other social networks, have increasingly become an integral part of life for many people. Now, with interest in the highly anticipated new film, "The Social Network," reaching a peak, and with Facebook making headlines on a daily basis for everything from privacy issues to historic outages, the site (and others like it) is poised to reach staggering new heights of popularity.

With the movie's release likely driving legions of "newbies" to try Facebook for the first time, the need for consumers to learn to keep their personal information out of the hands of cyberthieves is greater than ever.

Norton today released a comprehensive report outlining the proliferation of scams specifically targeted towards users of the real "Social Network", including:

• Like the movie shows, Mark Zuckerberg trusted his friends…look how that turned out: Cybercriminals take advantage of people's inherent trust on social networking sites. Links that appear to be posted from a trusted source can actually be a criminal in disguise – and these kinds of attacks are very successful. Use Safe Web for Facebook, a free tool from Norton, to let you know if links are safe before you click on them.

• Kim Kardashian wants to "friend" me!?! Cybercriminals create fake accounts for familiar faces and then use people's naivete to trick them into giving up their personal information. Use other channels to verify that the person is who they say they are.

• Free sunflower plant for your farm sound like a good deal? There are plenty of websites offering cheat tools for "social games." Often, the only thing these end up doing is stealing your passwords and other private information. Some allow access to all the information in your account and even post updates on your friends' walls without your knowledge! It's better to stay away from these offers and earn your plants the old-fashioned way.

The full report, which details these, and dozens of other scams and threats is available upon request.

EXPERTS:

Norton experts are on hand to share information about the most recent threats on Facebook, and other social networks, and the best practices for users to keep safe

IMAGES:

Screenshots of common Facebook and other social network threats available upon request

WHEN:

Interviews with Norton experts available upon request

CONTACT:

Karina Carretero

Edelman for Norton

323-202-1899

Karina.Carretero@Edelman.com