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Is "Invitation to Participate in Facebook Research" a Scam?

Facebook users, be aware of "Invitation to Participate in Facebook Research" email surveys similar to the one below that are being sent by scammers. Because Facebook occasionally sends out similar surveys, it is hard to tell which ones are legitimate and which ones are being sent by online scammers or cybercriminals. Some online users will tell you that once an email came from a Facebook.com email address it is safe to assume the email is legitimate. But, that is not true, simply because email addresses can be spoofed, meaning, cybercriminals can make an email message appear as if it came from Facebook although it was sent by them. Therefore, the "From" or the sender's address of an email message should never be used to determine if it is 100% legitimate or not.

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Sample of an "Invitation to Participate in Facebook Research" Email

From: Facebook User Experience Research - research@support.facebook.com

Date: Mon, Nov 13, 2017 at 12:00 PM

Subject: Invitation to Participate in Facebook Research

Facebook Research

Hello,

Facebook is holding a series of online interviews, and we’re hoping you might be interested in joining us! We want to learn more about how Facebook users interact with different brands' Pages. As a token of our appreciation, you’ll receive $150 for your time. To qualify, you need to be 18+ and available to participate sometime between 11/14 - 11/20.

If you are interested in participating, please click below to complete a brief survey. If you are selected for the study, you will receive a follow-up phone call with more details.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/

Thanks,

Catie Franklin | Facebook Research

1 Facebook Way | Menlo Park | 94025 | CA, USA

So, how can you tell if a Facebook survey email message is legitimate or not? Well, the best way is to ask Facebook. Yes, you can ask the Facebook Help Community to help verify the legitimacy of an email message.

This is how it works:

To prevent online scammers from tricking users into taking fake Facebook surveys that steal personal information, Facebook should announce their surveys in the Notification box of Facebook users' accounts, or announce them in a post in their News Feed, instead of sending them via emails.

Click here for information about Email Spoofing.

Check the comment section for additional information, or share what you know or ask a question about this article, by clicking the 'View or Write Comment' button below.

Note: Some of the information in samples on this website may have been impersonated or spoofed.

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