Bieber boner scam prongs Facebook

Good grief

Spam messages purporting to show tiresome teen warbler Justin Bieber with a woody are actually a lure for a new survey scam on Facebook.

The malicious status updates pose as links showing the Canadian singer sprouting an erection during an interview. Prospective marks are invited to click on a link, supposedly in order to watch a video entitled "Justin Bieber gets a boner in Public".

The linked page claims to be a Facebook verified app in an attempt to further hoodwink Bieber's young female fanbase, the most obvious target audience for the scam.

Agreeing to install the app gives it the permission to post messages on a user's wall but fails to result in the ability to see the supposed footage of Bieber becoming aroused. Victims are instead offered only the opportunity to complete a bogus survey, as explained in a write-up of the scam by Sophos here.

Scammers behind the ruse earn a commission for every survey completed, as well as tricking victims into handing over personal information that might be further misused somewhere down the line.

Surveys scams of this type have become endemic on Facebook over recent months spreading in the guise of a supposed "Dislike" application, a non-existent app that allows Facebook users to log who has viewed their profile or supposed footage of British TV celebrity Jeremy Kyle being headbutted.

The list goes on, and until Facebook users wise up it's difficult to imagine anything except growth for the scams, which normally rely more on exploiting human foibles than any security weakness on Facebook.

For a satirical side-swipe at the whole Justin Bieber phenomenon check out this video by The Onion here. ®