Beware of Farmville spam groups

Farmville is the leading game on the Internet right now, with over 177 million total installs since it was released, and almost 80 million active users per month.  While it has taken a lot of flack for being spammy on people's Facebook feeds, there is no doubt that it is the most successful Facebook game of all time.  Arguably, it is the most successful game of all time, period.  Its reach is global and widespread.

Unfortunately, due to its popularity - many Facebook groups have started to pop up that claim to provide Farmville benefits for people who join them.  Whether it is a group or a fan page, these pages are solely created to fool people into thinking they are legitimate in order to build up huge fanbases.  You may have seen these groups.  A few examples are:

Farmville - Harvest All With One Click Only
Farmville - Get the Giant Panda Instantly
Farmville, 25 FV Cash Glitch, Get it Now Before It's Fixed

There are dozens and dozens of these groups popping up, and they are not legitimate.  They are not started by Zynga, the company that runs Farmville.  This means that they have no ability to provide these benefits to you. 

How to decide if a Farmville page is a scam:

There are several ways to know if you are being scammed by a page.  Here are some helpful tips:

1. If the page promises you some kind of secret Farmville "cheat" or "hint".  This is always a lure to get you to join the group.
2. If the instructions for obtaining the Farmville benefit include a step that says "suggest that all of your friends become fans of this page."  This is how they trick people into spreading this group around.
3. If they promise you any kind of in-game benefit, such as a collectible item, or faster mechanics, or FV cash.  These are ALL scams, guaranteed.
4. If the group has a link to the Farmville Secrets guide.  They are trying to sell you this guide for $27.

Some groups are not scams:

There are several Farmville groups that are legitimate and okay to join.  These are any general "fan club" style groups which are simply gathering places for Farmville fans.  There are also groups for people who are looking for neighbors.  If they tell you "join this group and invite your friends and you'll instantly get 1000 neighbors", that is a scam.  However, some of these groups are great ways to connect with other people looking for neighbors in Farmville.  Do a bit of investigation to keep your account safe!

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So there you have it!  Happy farming!

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