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MONROE, La., (KNOE 8 News) - The Monroe BBB is alerting Internet users to another online scam.

Joan Ann Deal points out that the newest Facebook spam is probably already clogging up your news feed.

You've seen them: photos that have ten of thousands of "likes" and a caption that promises something amazing. Despite what these epics claim to be, they are just a way for shady businesses to make money off Facebook.   

Here's how the same works. An attention-grabbing photo appears in your Facebook news feed. The striking image has a caption (such as the one below) that promises something will happen in the photo if you "like" it or leave a particular comment.

But when you comment on the photo, nothing happens. The photo is just spam gone viral.

So what's the point of these photos? Savvy spammers set up Facebook pages and populate them with funny and/or moving images. Each picture has a message that urges users to "like," share or comment on the posts. The images run the gamut from amusing teasers to heart tugging images of sick children with captions that falsely promise "a dollar donated for each 'like.' "

The more times the images are shared or "liked," the more it boosts the spam page's "edge rank," the score a Facebook page is given to dictate how it interacts with other Facebook profiles. The higher your "edge rank," the more often the page appears in other users' news feeds. After the page accumulates enough fans and a high enough "edge rank," the spammers sell it.  

So if we sport a Facebook Spam, what should we do?  First, don't share, like or even comment on the images. This just perpetuates Facebook scam. Instead, report spam to Facebook by following these instructions.  

For More Information and for tips on identifying Facebook scams and ensuring your account is secure, please see Facebook's Help Center.  

To find out more about scams, check out the new BBB Scam Stopper.