Facebook is NOT going to charge for their site

Have you heard the rumors over the past few years about Facebook charging to use their site? So far, none of them have been true and from the sounds of it, none of them will be. It is true however, that Facebook may start to charge for specific features we use, but the $4.99 or $3.99 a month fee for "regular" use that some groups are claiming is not true and are scams.

Used to keep in touch with friends and family, Facebook has become an indispensable part of daily life for many people. So, it's only natural that we would panic at the thought of having to pay for what has been a free service for so long. And, of course, there are plenty of scammers willing to exploit that fear for profit.

One of largest groups protesting Facebook grew to over 100,000 people. Although it was removed by Facebook, new versions of the group are popping up everywhere. Many of the so called protesters are scams to deliver malware.

Every year there are multiple groups claiming that Facebook will soon begin charging for their service in an attempt to get us to join quickly. As they say in the blogosphere, Facebook will begin charging for access on the same day that Google starts to charge users on per search basis.

There are other scams that play on and add to the confusion too. Have you heard about that "Gold Membership?" These "upgrade" groups prey on the unfounded fear of subscription fees, urging users to, "Get an upgrade while its free." This "free" upgrade to a nonexistent Facebook Gold account leads you on a goose chase where you spread the scam by inviting your friends to fill out pointless surveys, and ultimately hand over your cell phone number and sign up for a bogus service. The service, of course, does absolutely nothing, and charges your cell phone bill several dollars every month.

While Facebook has plenty of other modernization plans, including the expansion of the Facebook Credits system, none of those plans include a fee-based access model.

Afterall, Facebook didn’t become the most popular site in the U.S. by charging for their service, and they aren’t going to become the largest site in the world by charging for their service either, so for now at least....not to worry.