Timeline Security Hoax Circulates On Facebook

If you use Facebook.com, perhaps you have seen the following status message:

"With the new 'FB timeline' on its way for EVERYONE, please do both of us a favor: Hover over my name above. In a few seconds you'll see a box that says "Subscribed." Hover over that, then go to "Comments and Likes" and uncheck it. That will stop my posts -- and yours to me -- from showing up on the side bar (ticker) for everyone to see, but MOST IMPORTANTLY it LIMITS HACKERS from invading our profiles. If you re-post this I will do the same for you. Thanks! (Click like on this post so I will know you unchecked.)"

Beware. This status message is a hoax -- an effective one too, since it trades on consumers' security fears. To learn more about why it is a hoax, visit Snopes and Facecrooks.

I can share this from personal experience. A couple Facebook friends sent this status message to me, and this hoax tricked me, too. The whole experience is reminder:

• Don't believe everything you read on social networking sites, and
• Verify claims before forwarding them as status messages to your friends.

Comments

[Victor Stanescu]

Actually there is just one real solution to delete the timeline for good:
http://www.vectorash.ro/how-to-disable-or-remove-facebook-timeline/

But if you want to stick with Facebook, I just made an easy to follow guide on how to use the new Facebook Timeline wisely and securely

[Facebook Timeline App]

According to InsideFacebook, scammers are exploiting the negative sentiments surrounding Facebook’s Timeline

[trish wills]

Thanks for posting those tips, I'm sure they'll come in handy for everyone. And nice job getting the top spot on the high scores!

[Greg Mathews]

Doing what that message says has nothing whatsoever to do with the new Timeline. I wrote a Note a couple of weeks ago that explains what will happen if you follow the instructions in the message. Feel free to read it, if you like :)