Facebook ‘account unlocker’ is a scam that snares paranoid partners hoping to snoop on their lovers’ messages
SUSPICIOUS partners who want to secretly read their lover's private Facebook messages have been dealt some web karma.
A Facebook "unlocker" service which claims to provide the login details for any profile requested has been unmasked as a scam that nicks people's personal details instead.
The fake hacking tool asks for the web address of the "target account".
But it also requests the users' email address or phone number which is linked to their own Facebook account as well as their password.
Upon clicking the button to generate the target's account details, the victim inadvertently sends their information to a crook who could sell their credentials on the dark web.
The dodgy graphics might lead you to believe barely anyone would fall for the trick, but it's a booming business for malicious software developers.
The problem is so widespread that a cyber sleuth and malicious software analyst has shared a warning online.
The expert, known only as MalwareHunter, is a security researcher who has previously spoken exclusively to The Sun Online about the lengths people will go to when it comes to snooping on their partners.
Speaking about the latest scam, they said: "When you click on the "Make it Ra1n" button, it will send your credentials to the creator of the tool.
"Obviously it won't unlock anything."
The tech expert has traced the software back to a Hungarian developer.
They added that it was hard to believe that people still believe "in these obviously fake things" but that there was a huge demand for these nefarious tools.
None the less, the Twittersphere did not spare any sympathy for those who had been hoodwinked.
One developer wrote: "I kind of want to make one that all it does is post how stupid you were to your own Facebook account #WouldNotActuallyDoIt."
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Don't feel too bad about yourself if you've been fooled.
As one developer was quick to point out: "I mean, [the scam] is technically real - it just hacks your account, not the target one."
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