14 DAY TRIAL // Scammers are trying to trick Facebook users into signing up to shady online services by promising them a video of a man slipping after taking a selfie at what’s known as the Devil’s Pool at the Victoria Falls.
Devil’s Pool is a natural pool located at the top of the Victoria Falls, which is considered the largest curtain of water in the world. There are numerous photographs of people swimming in the pool, and the picture used by the scammers is one of them.
However, there’s no video of a man slipping after taking a selfie. It’s just a scam.
The scammy posts published on Facebook read something like this: “Watch this man accidently slip after EPIC SELFIE capture at Devil's Pool, Victoria Falls. Devil’s Pool, Victoria falls – the Most Dangerous Pool In The World!. Click to play the video.”
When users click on the link, they’re not taken to a video. Instead, according to Hoax Slayer, victims are taken to a fake Facebook page where they’re told to share the post on their own timeline in order to access the content.
Then, internauts are led to a fake video website from where they’re directed to one of many shady streaming services.
On these sites, users are told to create accounts. But no matter how many accounts they create, no one gets to see the video, probably because it doesn’t exist.
Handing over your information on an untrusted website is never a good idea. Scammers can abuse the information you hand over to them in various ways. For instance, they know that many people use the same password for multiple online services, so they might try to access email accounts with the passwords they’ve been provided.
If you come across such posts, act with caution. Usually, no harm is done if you only click on the link and don’t do anything else after that. Of course, you should refrain from clicking on links that point to untrusted websites, but if you can’t help yourself, at least learn to recognize the clues that tell you that it’s just a scam.
If you’re asked to share and like various pages, complete surveys, register accounts, or enter information before you’re presented with the promised content, it’s likely a scam.
If you’ve handed over sensitive information, take the appropriate steps to protect yourself. Change your password, keep an eye out for malicious emails, or contact your financial institution, depending on what type of information you’ve handed over to the scammers.
Also, remember to remove all the scammy posts you might have shared on your timeline.