SophosLabs: Messages are spreading between Facebook users, claiming that members of the social network have lost all respect for popular songstress Rihanna after watching a video.
However, if you’re careless enough to click on the link you will find yourself lured into a survey scam that attempts to earn affiliate cash for fraudsters.
A typical message trying to tempt users into falling for the scam looks like this:
OMG - I just hate RIHANNA after watching this video
[LINK]
you will lost your all respect for RIHANNA after watching this
However, if you click on the link you are immediately asked to share the link with your online Facebook friends (thus spreading it virally) *before* you get to see any video.
Sadly, some people seem to be all too prepared to pass a link to their social network of mates without knowing what the point is.
Because if you do share the link, you will next be duped into taking an online survey. The scammers earn commission for every survey completed.
It’s people’s natural curiosity and desire to read (and view!) a sleazy celebrity story that gives scams like this life.
If you were fooled into participating in this scam remove the message from your newsfeed, and delete any messages you may have inadvertently shared with your friends. That way at least you are no longer spreading it with your online chums. You can also report the link as spam – hopefully if enough people do it, Facebook will begin to stop the scam from spreading.
Make sure that you keep informed about the latest scams spreading fast across Facebook and other internet attacks. Join the Omid’s Network page on Facebook****, where we regularly share information on threats and discuss the latest security news.