Facebook members were warned today of a rogue "dislike" feature luring users into giving away personal information to scammers.

The site said it was investigating examples of the scam, which tricks members into giving away permission to access their profile pages.

The scam tricks users into allowing a rogue application to access their profile page, which then posts spam messages.

It also attempts to lure people into completing an online survey, for which the scammers are paid money.

The dislike button scam prompts people to download an application with the message: "Download the official DISLIKE button now."

When users click on the link it prompts them to install a rogue application, which does not function as a dislike button.

Once a user has given it permission to access their profile, it updates the user`s page with a link and a message: "I just got the dislike button, so now I can dislike all of your dumb posts lol!!!"

The social network already offers a "like" button that allows people to rate other user`s comments and posts.

"Many people are giving permission for completely unknown apps," said Graham Cluley of security firm Sophos.

A spokesperson for Facebook said it also regularly warns users about rogue applications.

"We always encourage people to not click on links that appear suspicious - even if posted from a friend," a spokesperson said.

BDST: 1415 HRS, 17 August 2010