Prince fans, watch out! The Better Business Bureau says Internet criminals use celebrity deaths to try and get your personal information.
They are warning people to be careful before clicking headlines like “Prince’s Last Words on Video” or “Shocking and Sensational Video of Prince’s Last Day.” The BBB says scammers will use emails, attachments, social media (especially Facebook) and text messages to try and lure you into a click bait trap.
Here are some tips to protect yourself from a “Click Bait” scam:
- Don’t take the bait. Stay away from promotions of “exclusive,” “shocking” or “sensational” footage. If it sounds too outlandish to be true, it is probably a scam.
- Hover over a link to see its true destination. Before you click, mouse over the link to see where it will take you. Don’t click on links leading to unfamiliar websites.
- Don’t trust your “friends” online. It might not actually be your friends who are “liking” or sharing scam links to photos. Their account may have been hacked and scammers could be using another tactic called “clickjacking.” Clickjacking is a technique scammers use to trick you into clicking on social medial links that you would not usually click on.
If you see any scam posts on Facebook or Twitter, always report them.
RELATED | Find reflections, tributes and updates here.
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