Last updated on July 14, 2017
Outline
A Facebook message from a friend appears to show that a video of you has racked up a very large number of views on YouTube.
Analysis
The message is a scam. There is no video. If you click the link, you will be taken to a fake website designed to look like a Facebook login page.
The bogus web page claims that you must re-login to Facebook before you can view the supposed video. If you do enter your Facebook login details on the fake web page, scammers can collect the login details and hijack your Facebook account. The scammers can then use the hijacked account to launch spam, scam, and malware campaigns. Your friends will then begin receiving versions of the bogus “YouTube” videos that were automatically sent out from your account.
Criminals may also use this or similar ruses to trick people into downloading malware or installing rogue apps and malicious browser plugins.
This “YouTube” version is just one in an ongoing series of similar scam messages.
If you find that your account has been compromised via one of these scams, you will need to try to secure your account as quickly as you can. And, if possible, let your Facebook friends know that your account has been compromised and to watch out for scam posts being sent in your name.
Example
Importance Notice
After considerable thought and with an ache in my heart, I have decided that the time has come to close down the Hoax-Slayer website.These days, the site does not generate enough revenue to cover expenses, and I do not have the financial resources to sustain it going forward.
Moreover, I now work long hours in a full-time and physically taxing job, so maintaining and managing the website and publishing new material has become difficult for me.
And finally, after 18 years of writing about scams and hoaxes, I feel that it is time for me to take my fingers off the keyboard and focus on other projects and pastimes.
When I first started Hoax-Slayer, I never dreamed that I would still be working on the project all these years later or that it would become such an important part of my life. It's been a fantastic and engaging experience and one that I will always treasure.
I hope that my work over the years has helped to make the Internet a little safer and thwarted the activities of at least a few scammers and malicious pranksters.
A Big Thank You
I would also like to thank all of those wonderful people who have supported the project by sharing information from the site, contributing examples of scams and hoaxes, offering suggestions, donating funds, or helping behind the scenes.I would especially like to thank David White for his tireless contribution to the Hoax-Slayer Facebook Page over many years. David's support has been invaluable, and I can not thank him enough.
Closing Date
Hoax-Slayer will still be around for a few weeks while I wind things down. The site will go offline on May 31, 2021. While I will not be publishing any new posts, you can still access existing material on the site until the date of closure.Thank you, one and all!
Brett Christensen,
Hoax-Slayer
