App Developer Scamming Users: “To Get the Old Facebook Back, Add My App”
Ryan Mourtada has come up with a new way to get traffic to his application, Music, Video & Pictures Search Engine: falsely claim that users who add the app are able to get access to the old Facebook.
The application itself does not contain much functionality – just an ad-laden search page. But in order to promote his app, Mourtada also created the Facebook Group, “GOOD NEWS! HOW TO GET THE OLD FACEBOOK BACK! : ) (New way),” promising users that they can “get the old Facebook back” by installing his app. The instructions in the group read:
There is STILL a way to GET THE OLD FACEBOOK BACK! :D
Just follow these 6 steps
#1 Join this Group
#2 Invite all your friends
#3 Click the [SHARE +] button to the right (in the menu) ->
#4 When at Share (Post to profile), click the “Post” button
#5 Add this application to your profile http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=19772276310
#5.5 Click this link http://apps.new.facebook.com/?fbnew_opt_out=1
and that’s it !!!
So far, Mourtada has convinced over 700,000 Facebook users to join his group — 135,000 of which have interacted with his application in the last month.
Users, obviously, are becoming irate once they discover the scam. Here’s what they’re saying after adding Mourtada’s application, to no avail:
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Facebook take action here pretty quickly.
October 2nd, 2008 at 10:20 am
This isn’t the first time this happened, there was a post over on the developer’s forums to a Facebook group which had a 12 step process to getting the old Facebook back. It included installing a browser toolbar, inviting all your friends to the group and finally clicking the “opt out” link.
To my knowledge it’s still up and running.
-Mike
November 4th, 2008 at 2:58 am
Actually it worked
i joined that group and it work it did return the old facebook + it was written clearly “Please support me and add my music application”
You cant just blame the developer when he clearly stated that statement
November 14th, 2008 at 8:53 am
umm he did say the message mark wrote before so these are idiots who didnt read it
August 2nd, 2009 at 11:43 am
it is not a scam
this trick used to work at first and it did return old facebook
later when facebook totally removed the old facebook it stopped and people considered it as scam but the group was doing its purpose by getting people to old facebook
nothing wrong by having the author getting some credit to his work by gaining some traffic to his application
i think its his total right to have something in return
October 2nd, 2009 at 5:11 am
This way was working at first
Just by clicking http://apps.new.facebook.com/?fbnew_opt_out=1 it was able to take u out of the new facebook back to old
1 2 weeks later it stopped working