14 DAY TRIAL // A post delivering fake news about famous rapper Lil Wayne being found dead is currently making the rounds on Facebook. This is another attempt by scammers to drive traffic to specific online locations and dupe users into completing surveys in their stead.
Spotting the deceit, which purports to show a video of the news, should be easy, especially since the information does not come from a reputable source. Furthermore, clicking on the post directs the user to a page outside Facebook that shows a video thumb with the artist.
Before playing the video the page asks to share the message. This ensures that other users of the social networking site become exposed to the scam and can fall into the trap.
The page the user is directed to resembles Facebook, and its only purpose is to make the fake news seem legitimate because it sports a comments section, with messages from users who allegedly saw the video offering bits of information designed to incite clicking on the video thumb.
However, at a closer look, one should realize this is only a scam: there is no link on the page other than the one redirecting to a webpage with online surveys to complete.
On the right side, there are images with statistics showing the popularity of the video and the number of visitors that accessed it; these are only static images, though.
Users are advised to verify posts relaying sensational messages on reputable news outlets and refrain from clicking on the links provided.