Survey scammers seek new victims with the promise of a gruesome video

Jul 13, 2014 13:23 GMT  ·  By

Cybercriminals will always try to come up with attractive “news” titles and video thumbs in order to claim as many victims as possible.

One of the latest scams reported by Onliethreatalerts as making the rounds on Facebook lures in the unsuspecting users by delivering a catchy offer that promises to show video footage of a boat captain being killed by a great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias).

It is nothing but another attempt from survey scammers to deceive their victims into accessing specific web pages and completing online surveys in their stead.

By driving traffic to specific online locations they earn money, and more visitors increase their income. The same is attained with completing surveys, which can be sponsored by legitimate companies.

Keeping their interest piqued, the crooks first instruct the potential victims to share the fake news with their friends, as this helps them perpetuate the scam and access new “customers.”

Then, just one step before showing the footage, they present a survey that needs to be completed. There is no video, of course, and the victim could end up completing several surveys before catching on the scam.

In some cases, the surveys ask for personal information, such as email address or a phone number; these are collected for usage in future campaigns.