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Facebook Pay-for-Privacy Hoax Makes the Rounds - Again

This particular hoax has circulated the Internet in several variations since 2009 and continues to attract unsuspecting users.
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If you've visited Facebook this week you may have seen a post (or two) appear in your News Feed warning that the social media site is going to institute a fee for users to keep their profiles private.

The message encourages users to copy and paste the text (not share) and post it if they want to be exempt from the fee.

It seems harmless enough, but it's actually a hoax and it could set you up for future scams.

Facebook identified the post as a fake on Monday.

This particular hoax has circulated the Internet in several variations since 2009 and continues to attract unsuspecting users.

While liking a post or photo will not spread a virus or steal a user's information, subscribing to a page or clicking on links could pose a threat. Scammers can use these pages to spread malware, trick users into sharing personal information and to collect published data from profiles.

Related: Facebook Goes Down for Some Users for Second Time in a Week

The Facebook privacy hoax is one of many fake posts circulating social media. Earlier this year, bogus United Airlines and Disney pages posted giveaway scams and attracted thousands of users.

More than 25,000 people responded to the fake Disney post and more than 40,000 users interacted with the page pretending to be United Airlines, according to The Consumerist.