'Facebook may be phishing site'
2008-12-03 15:40
Cape Town - Facebook members, using the new Google Chrome browser, have been puzzled by a warning that the popular social network may in fact be a phishing site.
When a user tries to access Facebook, by using Chrome, an open source browser powered by Google Gears, the following notice appears:
Warning: Suspected phishing site!
The website at static.ak.fbcdn.net has been reported as a "phishing" site. Phishing sites trick users into disclosing personal or financial information, often by pretending to represent trusted institutions, such as banks.
The user can still use the site by clicking the button to continue, but also has the option to go "back to safety".
Is Chrome blocking Facebook?
Blogs and other social network sites like Twitter have been abuzz with people getting this notice, as well as speculation whether Google's Chrome is "blocking" Facebook.
However, it seems Chrome is not to blame.
According to a message posted on Wednesday on TechCrunch, a weblog dedicated to profiling and reviewing new internet products and companies, this problem also affects some Firefox users; as well as Safari users - Safari reportedly claims Facebook is a "suspicious" website when requests are made on the social network.
"Looks like this is more of a problem on Facebook's end than a browser-related issue. We've seen phishing scams targeting Facebook users in the past, on multiple occasions, but this is something completely different," Robin Wauters writes.
"It could have something to do with Facebook Connect (which they just started rolling out with a bunch of launch partners), anyone have any good theories about that?"
Facebook Connect
The issue is also the topic of discussion in the Facebook Platform Developers Forum.
" This error does not only affect Facebook - it also affects every site that uses the tiny Facebook icon for sharing stories," one post reads.
According to forum member, Chris Lang the domain static.ak.fbcdn.net belongs to Facebook and that the problem is created by Facebook Connect.
"It is up to the big sites to make sure that an application does not get misidentified [in this case as a phishing site].
"The issue is that phishing sites will target the app and make it look like a Facebook Connect widget. Then when you try to log in they will grab the username and login and send a bunch of spam on Facebook."
As soon as that happens the application will be disabled or the site will be blocked, he explains.
An administrator, in the meantime, has posted a message on the forum, acknowledging that fbcdn.net was indeed listed as a phishing site, but that the problem had been resolved.
However, this is not true as people still report the same warning, and the mystery lingers...