Curious About Facebook 'IQ Test Scams'
WBZ
Some people call it a scam that can sneak up on you when you think you're safe.
You can find it on Facebook and a ton of other web sites.
It's a challenge from your friends to take an IQ test.
Barb Miller from Framingham got caught.
She wrote to our Curiosity page asking:
"I'm curious about an app on Facebook. Who among us has taken the challenge to test your IQ?"
Well, we checked it out and found that if you take the test, you may pay the price.
WHAT HAPPENED
"It was a very quick, short quiz," says Barb.
And since she took it, she has had nothing but aggravation.
This might sound familiar.
She was on Facebook one day and a message popped up.
"It was a challenge. It said Dave had taken an IQ test, gotten a score, see if you can beat him," she says.
And Barb knows a Dave.
"I'm married to a Dave," she says.
You guessed it.
The challenge wasn't really from her husband.
"THEN THE CALLS STARTED"
But Barb took the IQ test and entered her cell phone number so they could text her the results, so she thought.
"And then the calls started," she says.
It was the beginning of the robo calls, dozens of them.
They've been coming in for over a month. You know the ones. It's time to buy a new warranty for your car.
"My car is not on a warranty either," says Barb.
But she was lucky. Barb was just annoyed.
INTERNET SCAMS
Some of these so-called tests are costing people real money.
"I think it's one of the worst Internet scams I've ever seen," says Edgar Dworsky a consumer advocate and founder of consumerworld.org.
He says most of these tests are really advertisements that lure you in with what looks like harmless fun.
"And they're really trying to steal your personal information, your cell phone number, so they can charge you," says Dworsky.
That's right.
The fine print on the tests tells you you're signing up for a monthly cell phone service for ring tones and other alerts, but when the tests come up on the screen, you usually can't see the fine print.
"Only if you scroll down the page is there this block of fine print that says this is a subscription service for $9.99 a month," says Dworsky.
BEWARE OF THE TRICK
Remember Barb's challenge from "Dave?"
That's the stealthy part.
It can come with photos of your friends who are supposedly making the challenge.
When we tried it, Facebook friends from WBZ appeared to be throwing down the gauntlet.
Facebook says it is investigating, but that's not the only place you'll find the IQ ads.
You'll also find them on other social networking sites and across the Internet.
BOTTOM LINE: DON'T CLICK ON IT
So if you really want to prove how smart you are, don't click on the IQ tests.
"You're smarter not to take the bait," says Dworsky.
And save yourself a lot of aggravation and money.
However, a lot of people don't find out about the charges until they get their next cell phone bill.
If that happens, call your service provider right away and complain as hard as you can, and hope they'll make it right.
And be sure to join the conversation.
Visit our Curiosity page and tell us what you're curious about.
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