14 DAY TRIAL // Cybercriminals are trying to lure unsuspecting users to a rogue Facebook app with the aid of posts that claim Oprah Winfrey committed suicide.
“Breaking News: American media proprietor Oprah Winfrey was found dead on her residence right after committing suicide on her living room. As authorities investigate on the issue Oprah Winfrey recorded a suicide video message before putting a bullet on her head. The message was unclear,” the bogus posts read.
They continue, “Exclusive footage was banned on TV due to graphic violence. Watch the footage exclusively on FOXnews.”
The message is complete nonsense. Oprah Winfrey is not dead, she hasn’t committed suicide and there’s no video.
Instead, according to Hoax Slayer, the link contained in the scam posts points to a fake Fox News Facebook app that requests permission to access users’ basic information and post on their behalf.
After the app is granted these permissions, victims are taken to another website where they’re asked to download a plugin that’s allegedly needed to view the video.
Finally, users are urged to complete various surveys and hand over personal information.
Cybercriminals have made up the fake story about Oprah Winfrey’s death to lure internauts to their scheme. The app installed in the first phase of the scam allows the crooks to publish the bogus post on victims’ timelines.
Then, the so-called plugin can also cause a lot of problems, since it might hide a piece of malware or a rogue browser extension that hijacks the home page and search results.
Finally, each time someone completes one of the surveys, the scammers make a certain amount of money. Not to mention the fact that they can use the information provided to them for other scams.
In case you come across such posts, act with caution. Check out the legitimacy of a story on trusted news websites. As a rule of thumb, if you’re asked to install software or complete surveys before gaining access to the much promised content, you’re likely dealing with a scam.