Scammers try to lure users to rogue surveys and malicious Facebook apps

Nov 20, 2012 07:37 GMT  ·  By

It appears that Facebook scams involving wrestlers are a major success. That’s why crooks have launched a scheme that leverages an alleged video of the bloodiest fight ever between Undertaker and John Cena.

Since, on previous occasions when we wrote about such hoaxes, many of our readers believed that the celebrity involved was really dead or injured, we want to clarify that all of this is a scam.

No one is dead or injured. Instead, cybercriminals are using the false story to lure users to a website to earn money.

Hoax Slayer provides a sample of the message circulating on Facebook:

“THE UNDERTAKER of WWE suffered from a severe head injury after the Hell in a cell. The Undertaker was rushed in ICU right after the BL00DIEST fight ever happened on WWE.

The fight match was BANNED on TV due to violence. Watch the original vide0 from WWE on h0w The bl00dy fight ends with Undertaker together with J0hn Cena. (f0r 18yrs & ab0ve) -->[Link]”

Curiously, this time no one has died, but the scam is still clever.

By promising World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) fans a video of a violent fight between Undertaker and John Cena, the crooks know that plenty of users will fall for it and visit the website that hides behind the link.

The link points to a shady Facebook application entitled “Get Access,” which requests permission to access basic information, post on the user’s behalf, and access their data any time.

By giving the app the requested permissions, Facebook customers are actually allowing the scammers to spread the malicious post.

Once the app is installed, it launches a new webpage that apparently contains the video of the fight between John Cena and Undertaker. In reality, it’s nothing but a fake screen that’s designed to advertise the next part of the scheme.

The video’s play button is covered by a so-called security check, which requests victims to verify their account by completing a survey. To make everything even more enticing, fabulous prizes such as iPhones, iPads and gift cards are promised.

These surveys should be avoided not just because they help the cybercriminals make a profit, but also because, in many cases, they’re designed to sign you up for premium mobile services and hand over sensitive information.

Furthermore, others try to trick you into installing additional malicious software.

Remember, John Cena, Rey Mysterio and Undertaker are not dead and they’re not injured. If anything were to happen to them, you would probably find out from trusted sources, not a shady post on Facebook.