By now, most of us have been around the Internet block time or two, and can easily spot a hoax when we see it.
So if you saw posts in your Facebook News Feed yesterday claiming that the social network will soon change its privacy policy or charge for service, you probably knew it was bogus. But despite being a common ruse, enough people fell for the latest Facebook hoaxes that the social network itself chimed in to say they're not real.
"While there may be water on Mars, don't believe everything you read on the Internet today," Facebook wrote in a post late Monday. "Facebook is free and it always will be. And the thing about copying and pasting a legal notice is just a hoax. Stay safe out there Earthlings!"
One of the hoaxes claims Facebook "just released the entry price: $5.99 to keep the subscription of your status to be set to 'private.'"
It goes on to claim that, "if you paste this message on your page, it will be offered free," adding that you must actually copy and paste the message to your News Feed or all your posts will soon become public, including any messages you have deleted.
The other scam claims Facebook is getting ready to change its privacy policy, and uses a reference to "Channel 13 news" to add legitimacy to the post. The message states:
"As of September 28th 2015 at 12:04 p.m. Eastern Standard Time I do not give Facebook or any entities associated with Facebook permission to use my pictures, information, or posts both past and future. By this statement, I give notice to Facebook it is strictly forbidden to disclose, copy, distribute or take any other action against me based on his profile and or its content."
It goes on to say that "violation of privacy can be punished by law (UCC 1-308- 1 1 308-103 and the Rome statue)," and adds that because Facebook is now a public entity, "all members must post a note like this."
"If you prefer you can copy and paste this version," it continues. "If you do not publish a statement at least once it will be tactically allowing the use of your photos as well as the information contained in your profile status updates. DO NOT SHARE. YOU MUST COPY AND PASTE."
Of course, neither of these fear-mongering posts are true. It's also not the first time we've seen these types of scams on the social network.
Facebook earlier this year rolled out a News Feed update aimed at reducing "the distribution of posts that people have reported as hoaxes." The company does not, however, remove stories people report as false, nor will it review any content to make a determination about its accuracy.