14 DAY TRIAL // Scammers are trying to trick Facebook users into helping them make some money with the aid of bogus posts that advertise a video of a man being eaten by a shark.
The bogus posts read, “[Exclusive] Shark eats the swimming man in an Ocean!! Watch the video – Heart breaking footage behind the scene!!”
Hoax Slayer reports that the link accompanying these messages doesn’t point to a video. Instead, it takes users to a website that displays a fake video window.
When the play button is clicked, victims are instructed to pass a security check before accessing the content. The security check is a survey that users must complete. To make everything even more attractive, users are promised prizes if they complete the surveys.
In reality, there’s no video and there are no prizes. The scammers win a certain amount of money each time the surveys are completed. In addition, victims might also be tricked into providing their mobile phone numbers.
By entering this piece of information on the scammy websites, internauts are actually subscribing to premium mobile services.
Beware of these types of scams! If you come across such posts on Facebook, report them as spam. If you’re already a victim and you have provided the phone number, access the scammy website once again.
At the bottom of the page, you should see instructions on how to unsubscribe from the mobile services. In certain countries, such as the United States or the United Kingdom, you can report such websites to authorities.
Facebook scams like this one have been making the rounds for quite some time now. The best way to protect yourself is to refrain from clicking on suspicious links, even if they appear to come from your friends.
Usually, it's not a problem if you've clicked on the first link. Just make sure you don't continue clicking after you're asked to hand over information, or complete various surveys.