‘Shocking Accident Roller Coaster Tried to be Hidden’ is a Facebook Scam

‘Shocking Accident Roller Coaster Tried to be Hidden’ is a Facebook Scam
The scam post in question
Jack Phillips
2/12/2014
Updated:
7/18/2015

A Facebook message claiming to have a video of a “[shocking] accident” on a roller coaster in a park is nothing more than a scam.

The post claims to have a video but it’s just a scam to trick people into going to a Brazilian website that has other fake videos. There is no video of the accident.

The image used in the post shows a roller coaster car falling off the track.

Facebook users are asked to share the post first before they access it, meaning that the post gets spread even further. “The world needs to know! Then you need to share the page with other people before you see it,” it reads.

According to Hoax-Slayer, the message is designed to get people to go to a Brazil-based blog.

“If users share as requested, they are then redirected to the Brazilian blog. Users do not get to see the promised video, which never existed in the first place. This is a highly unethical method of driving traffic to a website. Any site that users such underhand tactics to promote itself should be treated with suspicion and is best avoided,” the website says.

Other reports say that the scam asks the user to later fill out a survey that asks for your personal information first. It is not recommended to fill these out, as it gives the scammers things like your e-mail, phone number, or address.

It is recommended not to share the video or click on the post. If you’ve shared it, it’s best to delete it to prevent spreading it even more.

Such Facebook scams are extremely common, including one claiming that Rihanna died, Justin Bieber killed a 7-year-old boy in a DUI crash, and ones about shark attacks.

Some of the scams can contain malware and phishing websites, while some simply redirect you to a bogus survey website that asks for users’ personal information.

Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter with 15 years experience who started as a local New York City reporter. Having joined The Epoch Times' news team in 2009, Jack was born and raised near Modesto in California's Central Valley. Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/jackphillips5
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