How the scam works:

Essentially what the scammers do is send out a false message stating that if you 'share' or 'like' a photo of a  desperate child he/she will receive the transplant they are in dire need of. The image with the baby is stolen from somebody else's page.

Besides bringing a ton of views to their site, scammers ask people to donate money, sometimes even claiming that the project became Facebook’s own official campaign, with Facebook matching all received donations.

Victims then become very emotional and "support the cause”, convinced also by the huge amount of ‘likes’. All bogus, but very believable. There have been several cases like this on Facebook. The picture presented at the top is one of multiple ones that scammers used.

How to avoid:

Hard indeed, especially since the recommendation to click ‘like’ comes from one of your good friends. Your best bet is to verify that a claim is true before you 'like' or 'share' it. You can google the name of the campaign adding the word “scam” at the end – see what comes up! Definitely don't repost it, and make sure you report it and delete it from your wall or posts.

Make your friends and family aware of this scam by sharing it, using the buttons provided.

Improve your social media experience

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SocialEngine - SocialEngine is the most popular social networking software that let's people build their own community driven websites like Facebook, MySpace, Youtube, etc. You can create your own Facebook HERE.

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