It's MUCH worse than you think
It's even worse than you think. I've written an article about this on my own page if you feel like going through it in detail:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-horrifying-truth-about-become-a-fan-to-see-picture-groups-PLEASE-READ/115508845133413?ref=ts
Briefly, Facebook is actively encouraging such scams through its addition of the "static FBML" feature to its pages app. One of the things which has made Facebook stand out against other social networks is the lack of theme variations - every page has the same style, and no cluttered, lagging, myspace style custom themes are allowed. While many would view this as a restriction, it has prevented Facebook from turning into the nightmare MySpace is.
Several months ago all that changed, when Facebook introduced a tool to allow only business owners to change the layout of their pages. The most dangerous aspect of this change is the fb:connection tag - it allows page owners to make certain content "for fans only".
Now they are, as you're saying, using these gimmicks to amass hundreds of fans. And why? Because the owners of these pages are starting to seel their fans and status updates on ebay and other sites. Do a google search for 'facebook fan page for sale' and you will find hundreds of results. And Facebook is not only doing nothing about it, they are actively encouraging this by showcasing the "exclusive fan only content" features of FBML.
If this is not stopped quickly, Facebook will become another cluttered, dead social network. And the only way to stop it is to raise awareness, which is why I commend the author if this article. Far too many people are joining these groups without first considering the serious privacy implications that the simple action of clicking "like" actually has for them and their friends. It's time the users of Facebook declare in one voice that we have had enough of this nonsense and that either Facebook can take proper action against it, or we will go somewhere else. We've already done that to Bebo, MySpace, and every other social network which has made this exact mistake - I don't see any reason Facebook should be an exception.
In the age of the internet, power truly does lie with the users, and not with the management. It's revolutionary, and the sooner businesses realize this fact and stop resisting it, the better for EVERYONE.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
