Facebook Marketplace Links corrupted...

[turbokinetic]

Forum URL: monitortop.freeforums.net/

Lately when forum users have posted Facebook Marketplace links, they are corrupted or altered when the link is opened.

For instance the link text is:

www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/3202719863102238/
It should show this page:

but when the link is clicked on, the resulting URL redirects to this:

https://api.shopstyle.com/action/apiVisitRetailer?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fmarketplace%2Fitem%2F3202719863102238%2F&pid=uid7424-7742368-93&pdata=k09mz6bzsl02ylrr0msza

A few moments later, the link redirects again to this:

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/deals/?ref=affiliate_external&referral_story_type=daily_deals_rakuten

The page is not what is intended. It dos not show the item, ans is only a generic page: 


The problem is, the first link is intended to display a specific Marketplace item relating to the forum in question. The corrupted / altered link does not point to any specific item. I am concerned this is potentially malware; as the link address is changed behind the scenes after a user clicks on it.

[Derek‽]

It's not malware, it's just the awful VigLink service ProBoards uses to generate affiliate referrals for any potential sales resulting from a user clicking the link. In the case of your forum, it's hijacking the Facebook links and passing them to ShopStyle, who then passes them on to Facebook. By the time the redirections have ended, the original intended destination has been lost in the shuffle.

You can always right-click and choose to open the link in a new tab and be taken to the original Facebook Marketplace page. The VigLink redirection won't occur using this method because the JavaScript onclick event isn't being triggered and the hijack never has an opportunity to occur.

There isn't anything else that can be done since it's a third-party service that's to blame.

[turbokinetic]

Sept 7, 2019 19:45:57 GMT -8 Derek‽ said:

It's not malware, it's just the awful VigLink service ProBoards uses to generate affiliate referrals for any potential sales resulting from a user clicking the link. In the case of your forum, it's hijacking the Facebook links and passing them to ShopStyle, who then passes them on to Facebook. By the time the redirections have ended, the original intended destination has been lost in the shuffle.

You can always right-click and choose to open the link in a new tab and be taken to the original Facebook Marketplace page. The VigLink redirection won't occur using this method because the JavaScript onclick event isn't being triggered and the hijack never has an opportunity to occur.

There isn't anything else that can be done since it's a third-party service that's to blame.

Thanks for the reply! As you suggested, I am in the habit of copying text links and pasting them to avoid other privacy concerns as well. Some of the forum members aren't technically savvy enough to do this, though.

[Michael]

Hi turbokinetic,

Thank you for the heads up. We checked this out and this appears to be an unintended issue on Viglinks end. We've contacted them to let them know about the problem and hope it'll be resolved soon.