Ok, I admit it. I was on Facebook the other day and I let my guard down and clicked on an app I shouldn’t have. I shouldn’t feel ashamed, many of us have done this, right? The next thing I know, I’m not really seeing what I expected, and the app is trying to spam all my friends!
I clicked on what I *thought* was a photo sharing app, but in reality I think it was a spammy dating app. Just to clear things up: I am not looking for love on Facebook. Not that there is anything wrong with that when others do, but I was a little worried about what it was actually sending to people! (You can imaging my initial panic, but luckily it all blew over pretty quickly and no real harm was done.) 
So now what? The first thing I recommend you do if an app starts to misbehave, is change your Facebook password. This will prevent most apps from sending out more messages you didn’t authorize.
I also recommend that you go to your account settings and check your list of Apps and delete any apps you are no longer using. There are many very useful apps, but hackers have created some apps, (or hacked others), that cause problems. It’s a good habit to review your currently installed Facebook apps periodically and delete the ones you don’t use just to prevent issues.
Once this is done, you might want to notify Facebook about the issue as well. This is how they request you do that: “You can report an app for abuse by clicking Report/Contact this App at the bottom of any canvas page within the app.
If you are not currently using the app but would like to report it, simply go to the app’s profile page on Facebook, and click Report App towards the bottom of the left column.
In addition, we’d recommend that you contact the developer who created the app directly so they’re aware of your report. You can report this to the developer by going to the app’s profile page and clicking Contact Developer towards the bottom of the left column, or by clicking Report/Contact this app at the bottom of any canvas page within the app.”
If you happen to have a problem with an email account, such as Yahoo sending spam to your Facebook contacts, change your email password as well. This happened to me a few days after the app incident, and I think it might be related. I also had the Yahoo Contact Importer app installed on Facebook, so I deleted that as well.
If you continue to have problems, seek professional help from a trusted computer company.
Please do not hesitate to let me know if you have any questions, or would like more information.
Victoria Linton is a Business Development Specialist with Ticor Title in Salem and specializes in helping Mid Valley Real Estate Agents and Loan Officers integrate technology into their business and marketing plans.
Victoria Linton, Business Development Specialist
Ticor Title – Salem, Oregon
Email: Victoria.Linton@TicorTitle.com
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Filed under: Facebook Tips
Also please delete and mark as spam any messages that are posted to your profile. When you log in to Facebook, click your name next to your photo and this will take you to your profile. This will show what you (or “you”) have posted.
Hover over your post and a grey X will appear. Click this and report as spam and delete. Do this for all posts to save your friends from the same horror.
Great additional information Shawn. Thanks!