Right after the news about Brad Pitt and Angeline Jolie's divorce, a popular media site Facebook has shocked users about a link to a 'news' with a headline 'R.I.P Brad Pitt'.
The link stated that the 52-year-old actor Brad Pitt has committed suicide, and is disguised as a Fox News Article, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel.
The link was proved to be a Malware and users who will open the link will route people to a phishing website intended to steal people's personal and valuable information by asking them to provide their Facebook credentials to be able to read the news story.
Facebook's spokesperson said in a statement that a malware like this news hoax is not new and it is known to come from malicious browser extensions. He also added that Facebook notifies people when they detect malware on their computer and help people clean it up.
This is not the first time where hackers used news in trying to steal information from people. Hackers do not use celebrity deaths alone. They also use popular events such as the Olympics and Black Friday hoaxes and other trending topics.
In line with this, the security firm McAfee collets data on what names are considered 'dangerous' and should be avoided starting from names which are most searched over the internet. high-risk celebrities include Justin Bieber, Carson Daly, Will Smith, Rihanna, Miley Cyrus, Chris Hardwick, Daniel Tosh and Selena Gomez.
According to Enstarz, malware like this is also infested in illegal downloads so people should be more cautious when downloading songs or movies online. People should also be aware and responsible when using social media. They should also make sure that log ins, passwords, personal and sensitive information should not be given out easily and shared to other people. It is also safe to view news and information from reliable sources.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
