‘Do Not Open Any PMs From Anyone’ Facebook Message Goes Viral Over Malware; It’s Not Accurate

A Facebook message saying that users should “not open any PMs”--private messages--from anyone is overblown.

“DO NOT OPEN ANY PMS FROM ANYONE!!!! Malicious malware being delivered by private messages, it will say it came from a friend, and JUST OPENING THE PM will bomb you, even if you don’t click on or open the file!!! REPEAT: DO NOT OPEN ANY PMS, run your malware scan and I advise downloading the Facebook malware app to secure your account!!!!!!!!!!” it reads.

While it’s good to exercise caution when opening Facebook messages, the post is unfounded.

You computer can’t get infected with malware when opening a private Facebook message because it would have to be downloaded to your computer.

“While its author may have been well intentioned, this message is too overblown and inaccurate to have any validity as a warning and sending it on will do nothing to help keep Facebook users safe from security threats,” reads a post from Hoax-Slayer.

“Despite the claim in the message, your computer cannot be infected with malware just by opening a Facebook private message. Certainly, private messages may contain links to websites that harbour malware. Or links in the PM could point to rogue apps, malicious browser plugins, or phishing sites. And the sender could add a potentially malicious file to the PM and try to trick the recipient into downloading it.”