Facebook users are being tricked into clicking on links which claim to be raw CNN footage of the Japanese tsunami by cold-hearted scammers – as part of a plot to earn money by driving web traffic to take online surveys.
The videos, which in the examples seen by Sophos exist on a website called spinavideo, purport to be footage of the horrifying tsunami which hit parts of Japan on Friday.
Japanese Tsunami RAW Tidal Wave Footage
Clicking on the link takes unsuspecting users to a website which pretends to be YouTube, but is in fact designed to clickjack users into unwittingly agreeing to Facebook “Like” the page (which spreads the scam virally across the social network).
Users are then tricked into taking an online survey which earns commission for the scammers. No doubt the scammers are hoping that by pretending the video footage comes from CNN, more people might be tempted to click on it.
It’s a sad reflection on human nature that a…
Read more in my article on the Naked Security website.
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