Jefferson Co. Sheriff warns of spam comments left on their Facebook posts

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office is warning the public about spam links being placed in the comments of its Facebook posts.

“Please note that the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office DOES NOT sell mugs, t-shirts, hoodies, and other items with our logo online. These are spam links,” the sheriff’s office said on Facebook Tuesday.

The sheriff’s office asks visitors to tag them if they see the links before their Facebook administrator does.

“We just want to make sure you’re each aware of this situation,” the sheriff’s office said. “Some of you have already helped in bringing them to our attention, so thank you for that. Some of the posts are relentless. New profiles but always the same things. Just promise you won’t click them!”

More examples of Facebook spam

The trend of spam Facebook comments seems to be increasing, at least to the naked eye.

Many who visit just about any news media Facebook page have probably seen this one — a comment that includes what appears to be a link from a legitimate news source. But in actuality, it’s probably malicious software sent by spammers intending to infect your computer.

They usually appear on Facebook posts about tragedies such as deaths, car crashes, natural disasters or crime. Most often, they say something like “It’s terrible this happened” or “This is horrible” or “Police just released video of the incident” — sometimes adding the words “GRAPHIC CONTENT” just for extra punch.

The images below are a couple of examples of what these often look like.

It’s meant to look like there is a video for you to watch — to make you think it’s some scene video or a report. The spammer is trying to prey on your curiosity to click the link.

In addition to the comment, be aware of what web link addresses they are attaching. The two most common appear to start with “wee.so” or “kve.so.” But there could be others.

This is happening across the country and malicious actors are getting sneakier and sneakier. The best advice you can follow is simply to not click on the link. And make sure to warn people you know who you think are likely to fall for something like this.

Here is more advice from Facebook on how to handle spam.

Spam involves contacting people with unwanted content or requests. This includes sending bulk messages, excessively posting links or images to people’s timelines, and sending friend requests to people you don’t know personally.

Spam can spread by clicking unsafe links or installing malicious software. Scammers can sometimes gain access to people’s Facebook accounts, which are then used to send spam.

If you clicked on something that turned out to be spam or your account is creating unwanted posts, events, groups or Pages, try these steps:

Secure your account

- If you can log into your account, we recommend changing your password. If you can’t get into your account, you can secure it.
- If someone is repeatedly posting something you think is spam, consider unfriending, blocking or reporting that person.

Review account activity and remove any spam

- Check your login history for suspicious logins.
- Run a review of your recent posts and likes.
- Check your Activity Log and delete any unwanted actions.
- Check your installed apps and games and delete anything you don’t trust.
- Delete any photos, posts, Pages, groups or events that you didn’t create.

Report spam to us

If you come across spam on Facebook, report it to us. By doing so, you’ll be playing an important role in helping us protect other people from scams.

Learn more

It’s possible that you clicked a malicious link, downloaded a bad file, or logged into a fake Facebook Page and someone got access to your account. Learn more about keeping your account secure.