Facebook fraudsters use fake news of F1 star’s death to direct users to scam websites
Scammers and fraudsters think nothing of scraping the barrel of bad taste, if they believe it will help them earn a few dollars. Take the latest scam spreading on Facebook, for instance, which claims that Formula 1 racing driving star Michael Schumacher has died.
In case you’re not aware, almost six months ago the motor racing legend suffered a severe head injury in a skiing accident, which saw him – until very recently – placed in a medically induced coma. Now, scammers are saying he has died. And, sadly, ghoulish Facebook users are helping for the scam to spread – by clicking on the link.
Cold-hearted scammers are trying to drive traffic to their faked webpages, because if you share the link with your friends you are helping them generate traffic to their site. And the more people who attempt to watch the video, the more money they will make.
Oh, and by the way, as Schumacher hasn’t died – you’re not going to see a news report claiming that he has. Instead, you will be taken to a webpage which pays a small amount of affiliate cash to the scammers, helping to fill their coffers.
If you made the mistake of clicking on a link like this, make sure that you did not share it with your friends and delete any strange posts from your Facebook newsfeed. Remember to warn your online friends to be wary of similar scams, and to always think twice before sharing links.
You would imagine that Schumacher’s friends and family have suffered enough, without scammers, fraudsters and thieves attempting to profit from his critical condition.
by Graham Cluley, We Live Security
ESET Ireland 