14 DAY TRIAL // A message circulating on Facebook claims to take users to a video recorded by Robin Williams to say “goodbye” before his untimely death; this is another cybercriminal attempt to exploit user curiosity to fill their pockets.
There are multiple campaigns running at the time and in most of the cases crooks seem to try to convince users to complete online surveys, for which scammers receive a commission; but other variants may lead to websites serving malicious toolbars and browser plug-ins or subscribe the victim to premium rate SMS services.
The crooks made all efforts to ensure the success of the campaign and also added powerful incentives in the description of the fake video message. Versions of the footage were accompanied by the following text:
“Exclusive video: Robin Williams says goodbye with his cell phone before hanging himself with a belt and cutting himself with a pocket knife. He can still make everyone laugh with this video but it will make everyone cry a river at the end.”
After clicking on the video thumb, the potential victim is taken to a website purporting to be affiliated with the BBC service. Trying to play the footage triggers a share request, so that the scam is distributed to the friends in the list.
In the next step of the scam the users are asked to complete a survey, for verifying their age. This is actually what the crooks are after because the page also demands personal information that could be used in other malicious campaigns or sold to marketers.
Researchers at Symantec have also detected this scam and have already alerted Facebook in order to stop it from spreading.
