Facebook users may have to be more discerning before spreading a chain letter that the social network will be "closed for maintenance" at the end of February.
Security vendor Sophos noted the closure dates specified in the chain letter - Feb. 29 to 31 - are already a giveaway clue.
"And, of course, it's kinda true. You won't be able to log into Facebook on February 29th, February 30th or February 31st this year ... Umm.. that's because those days don't exist," Sophos' Graham Cluley said in a blog post.
Despite the telltale signs, he said some users have taken the email "at face value and shared it with their friends, unaware of the silliness."
Cluley also noted the messages appear to be particularly prevalent in French, though versions of the message have also been reported in English.
He cited an English version of the email saying Facebook will be closed for maintenance from February 29th to 31st.
The mail urged users to "Share this message with at least 15 of your friends for the best chance of alerting everyone."
Cluley said this was not the first time a hoax has spread claiming that Facebook will shut down - some years back, a bogus news story claimed Facebook was permanently closing on March 15.
"Hoaxes and jokes like these are nothing like as bad a problem as malware worming its way between users and stealing information, but they can still become a nuisance, clogging up communications, increasing the overall level of spam and perhaps leading people to make decisions for the wrong reasons," Cluley said.
Security vendor Sophos noted the closure dates specified in the chain letter - Feb. 29 to 31 - are already a giveaway clue.
"And, of course, it's kinda true. You won't be able to log into Facebook on February 29th, February 30th or February 31st this year ... Umm.. that's because those days don't exist," Sophos' Graham Cluley said in a blog post.
Despite the telltale signs, he said some users have taken the email "at face value and shared it with their friends, unaware of the silliness."
Cluley also noted the messages appear to be particularly prevalent in French, though versions of the message have also been reported in English.
He cited an English version of the email saying Facebook will be closed for maintenance from February 29th to 31st.
The mail urged users to "Share this message with at least 15 of your friends for the best chance of alerting everyone."
Cluley said this was not the first time a hoax has spread claiming that Facebook will shut down - some years back, a bogus news story claimed Facebook was permanently closing on March 15.
"Hoaxes and jokes like these are nothing like as bad a problem as malware worming its way between users and stealing information, but they can still become a nuisance, clogging up communications, increasing the overall level of spam and perhaps leading people to make decisions for the wrong reasons," Cluley said.
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