Michael Schumacher Death Scam

ESET Warns Facebook Users to Beware - Facebook Scam Reports the Death of F1 World Champion Winner Michael Schumacher

Scammers and fraudsters think nothing of scraping the barrel of bad taste, if they believe it will help them earn a few dollars. Take the latest scam spreading on Facebook, for instance, which claims that Formula 1 star Michael Schumacher has died.

In case you’re not aware, almost six months ago the motor racing legend suffered a severe head injury in a skiing accident, which saw him placed in a medically induced coma. In the last week, he was transferred to a hospittal in the Swiss city Lausanne, and in recent days widespread reports emerged of his medical notes were stolen and allegedly offered for sale. Probably due to the immense media coverage, scammers are now saying he has died. And, sadly, according to antivurus company ESET, ghoulish Facebook users are helping for the scam to spread – by clicking on the link.

How it Works.

Cold-hearted scammers have set up affiliate webpages and are trying to drive traffic to them. |You click the link and  you will be taken not to a news-report, but a spammy page such as 'casino', weight loss tablets or whatever, and the spammers make a small amount of money for the priviledge of the click. But not only will you have helped them make money, the click through Facebook will also share this fact among your Facebook friends....and likely that they will click too, and the more people who attempt to watch the video, the more money they will make.

ESET advise that if you made the mistake of clicking on a link like this, make sure that you did not share it with your friends and delete any strange posts from your Facebook newsfeed. Remember to warn your online friends to be wary of similar scams, and to always think twice before sharing links

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