Urgent warning to Facebook users over ‘I can’t believe he’s gone’ scam that tricks you into downloading malware
- Scammers use fake news articles to trick Facebook users into following links
- Experts say pay close attention to the link URL to avoid downloading malware
Cybersecurity experts have issued an urgent warning to Facebook users over a new scam that they’ve coined the ‘I can’t believe his gone scam’.
This emotionally manipulative scam tricks users into downloading malware, with posts featuring fake BBC branding, and implying that a loved one has died.
Clicking on the linked post will bring users to a compromised site designed to harvest their personal information.
Marijus Briedis, cybersecurity expert at NordVPN, said: ‘When you come across unexpected or alarming posts, especially those about personal emergencies, take a moment to verify their legitimacy before clicking any links.’
Here are the key signs to look out for to make sure you don’t fall victim to the scam.
The ‘I can’t believe he’s gone scam’ was first highlighted by cybersecurity researcher Pieter Arntz from Malwarebytes.
As Mr Arntz explained in a blog post, the scam consists of a post containing some variation of ‘I can’t believe he’s gone. I’ll miss him so much’ and a link.
If you follow the link, you will be brought to another Facebook post showing what appears to be a BBC news article about a fatal road accident.
This post will also contain slightly different text to the original, saying: ‘I can’t believe this, I’m going to miss him so much’.
But while this post might appear legitimate at first glance, this is actually a fake link to a malicious website.
Mr Arntz writes: ‘The BBC news logo in the picture and the BBCNEWS part of the URL are…
