The 'Flight 370 found in Bermuda Triangle' Facebook video post, which has gone viral in the wake of the search and rescue operations for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet, is actually a scam that will divert visitors to several surveys, malicious apps, and malware.
According to the Epoch Times, a Facebook video post claiming that the Malaysia Airlines flight 370 was found in Bermuda Triangle has become viral since March 8. The cynical Facebook post is said to deliver users malicious content that is intended to obtain personal information and other data.
The news site also reports that another scam that has also gone viral is claiming that the missing flight 370 was found in the Indian Ocean. However, looking at the photo of the said post alone, one could notice right away that the scam shows a pic of the Lion Airlines crash near Indonesia in 2013.
The "Flight 370 Found in Bermuda Triangle" video post, on the other hand, claims that the passengers of the missing jet are "alive," when in fact there is no video to support this.
Clicking any of the said posts concerning the missing Malaysia Airlines flight 370 will redirect users to a bogus site that is made to look like Facebook.
Upon visiting the site, visitors are asked to share the link before they can proceed to the video. This tactic ensures that the scam will spread even more.
"This scam will trick you into 'liking', sharing or completing surveys, which it claims you have to do in order to watch the video in the post. But, there is no video, so do not be fooled into completing the surveys, liking or sharing it," Online Threat Alerts, a security website, stated on its blog page.
Additionally, the security site says some variants of this kind of scams will prompt the automatic download of a rogue Facebook app or useless software or malware that are again designed to retrieve personal data from user.
According to the Online Threat Alerts, which has reviewed the "Flight 370 Found in Bermuda Triangle" post, "The website will ask you to complete surveys and share the same website in order to view the video, but this is a trick to get you to complete the surveys that the cybercriminals behind this scam will get paid for or to spread this scam to your Facebook friends."
The Epoch Times reported some effective measures one can take when he encounters this kind of scam content.
The site says it is best to delete any of this scam content on one's Facebook Timeline or Wall to prevent if from spreading further.
In case, the rogue Facebook app has been installed in one's device, he can remove this app by going to the Facebook application settings and view the list of all the applications there. Clicking the "X" mark on the right side of the rogue app will remove it from one's account.
Finally, be wary of viral posts that use "CNN," "FoxNews," "Yahoo," and "YouTube" and other legitimate-sounding names.
Chris Boyd, a malware intelligence analyst at Malwarebytes says, "Anything involving a potential disaster is big money for the scammers, as there's a split between clickers with a penchant for salacious content and those who simply want to know if a relative is OK, or if there's any more news on a breaking disaster."
The "Flight 370 found in Bermuda Triangle" is no different from other scams: it is formatted to magnet other people clicking the video link, and from there the makings of a suspicious file-viewing mechanism follows.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
