14 DAY TRIAL // “Pop star singer” Shakira is featured in the latest scam that’s making the rounds on Facebook, trying to dupe users into blindly clicking on Like buttons and get them to complete a survey.
Security researchers from Bitdefender analyzed the scam which drags the unsuspecting Facebook member through a maze of Likes and shady webpages before presenting him/her with a classic survey.
It all begins with a post that promises a private tape that features the celebrity. Once the link from the post is clicked, the user is presented with a Facebook profile that further advertises the alleged video.
If the Watch here button is clicked, an age verification page appears. To prove that they are over 18, internauts must click a number of Likes in 60 seconds to presumably unlock the video.
Of course, all the Like widgets hide other malicious pages which are basically advertised each time someone falls for the trap set by the crooks.
Those who complete the test are presented with another verification which reads “You must be over 13 years old to watch this video”.
This is a clear indication that crooks don’t even bother too much with the logic of the scam, instead they rely on the fact that individuals in search for something hot will simply click on anything they are confronted with to reach the much desired prize.
Other versions of this scheme promise videos that feature not only Shakira, but also her current boyfriend, football player Gerard Pique.
These variants also promote the footage in return for a simple verification test that requires the Facebook customer to click on 80 Like buttons in 1 minute “to certify that they are 18.”
In the end, a classic survey page is shown, but unlike others, it doesn’t purport to offer prizes, instead it claims to be an “anti-spam-check” in which the victim is requested to answer questions such as “How stupid are you?” or “Can you complete this test?”