A viral Facebook posting saying “RIP - Singer Rihanna Found Dead After Being Raped! 2014“ that claims to have a video is a scam.
“OMG SHE WAS SO INNOCENT. BAD GUYS RAPED HER, RIP,” the post continues.
It then shows a photo of a woman’s face that appears beaten with her eyes closed.
The fake post attempts to scam Facebook users into sharing or liking it, which then spreads it further.
Specifically, it directs users to a page that says the user can only see the video if it shares the video.
However, there’s no video or anything attached to the video, and it just sends Facebook users to fake surveys that promise users the footage. The surveys offer people prizes but require people to give out their phone numbers.
The scammers then spam the numbers with text messages and advertising e-mails.
“Victims are also typically duped into sharing the link to the scam to their Facebook friends and family, before realising that there is no truth to the report,” says security expert Graham Cluley. “Don’t make life easy for the sick-minded scammers. Warn your friends about scams like this, and ensure that you aren’t duped in future – as you could be only making the problem worse.”
Other recent, viral hoaxes with survey scams include fake news of a shark eating a surfer in the ocean, the world’s largest snake in Brazil, and one about a large car accident. They all promise a video but there are none, and they merely send the users to survey sites.
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