This Facebook post features an image of a naked woman apparently being eaten by a shark and includes a “Play” button that supposedly opens a video showing the attack.
Clicking the “Play” button takes you to a “news video” website. The site features teaser images for a large number of “shocking” or salacious videos, including the supposed shark attack.
However, when you click on any of the teaser images, a popup message will claim that you must install a plugin before you can watch any videos.
But, alas, the plugin is a malware program that can
hijack your browser, show malicious advertisements, and interfere with security settings on your computer.
Once installed, these malicious programs can be difficult to remove.
Be wary of any “shocking video” posts that come your way on Facebook. Many are scams that try to get you to like and share bogus messages on Facebook and participate in suspect online surveys.
Others are designed to promote a particular webpage or – as in this case – trick people into downloading malware.