Beware of scammers taking advantage of the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 tragedy
SCAMwatch is warning Australians to be wary of scammers looking to take advantage of the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 tragedy by setting up fake Facebook pages in the name of victims of the tragedy.
Scammers have set up false Facebook profiles for Australian victims of the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 tragedy in an attempt to make money from people interested in finding out more about this international tragedy. The profiles direct people to a blog, where they are then bombarded with dubious advertisements.
If you click on the advertisement, the scammer can make money from the advertising ‘service’ (where they receive advertising revenue for each click through to a client’s website or product). The blog or advertisement may also be infected with malware, thereby compromising your computer’s security.
Beware – scammers have also been known to take advantage of major news stories including tragedies to seek donations for fake charities. Scammers use social networking platforms to promote these schemes.
If you want to find out more online about the Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17, only use official news sources. Be wary of unverified links posted on social networking sites– unfortunately scammers like to connect with people through these forums too.
Source: Neighbourhood Watch Australasia
