Avoid this Bin Laden death video scam

A new online scam is doing the rounds after the death of the al-Qaeda leader in Pakistan last week...

Not since the demise of Princess Diana has a death raised so many questions and sparked such public curiosity.

From the moment Barack Obama announced that US Special Forces had killed Osama Bin Laden, there were those that had their doubts. This curiosity was only heightened as the Whitehouse altered and then re-altered the precise details of the al-Qaeda leader’s death.

Unsurprisingly, a global demand for photographic or video evidence confirming that Bin Laden was really dead quickly followed.

It’s this demand that online scammers and spammers are taking advantage of by peddling a new variety of phishing scam...

Bin Laden video scam

The practical method of the scam is very similar to the tax refund and Amazon phishing scams we have previously reported on. Scammers are claiming to have unreleased visual evidence of Bin Laden’s death and are posting links to these supposed videos and photos on Twitter and Facebook as well as e-mailing links out to addresses at random.

However these links will lead to bogus websites designed to steal your personal information or transfer viruses onto your computer. From here, it’s one easy step to identity theft or credit card fraud.

One form of the scam has appeared on Facebook and spread rapidly as the malicious software (malware) automatically pastes links to the rogue website onto the profiles of anyone you happen to be friends with on the Social Network.

Don’t become a victim

The scam works by exploiting the curiosity many people have to view photos of Bin Laden’s death and his dead body. Therefore the simple way to avoid this scam is to refrain from clicking on any links that purport to show such pictures.

You should never open any e-mails from unknown or suspicious looking addresses and alarm bells should certainly start ringing if the e-mail claims to contain any pictures relating to Bin Laden.

The same goes for Facebook and Twitter users; delete any suspicious looking links from your profile and block and report any Twitter spammers who send you URL’s claiming to show Bin Laden’s dead body. Even if the link is sent from a friend on a Social Network you should still never click it, as chances are malware has taken over their account.

If you are looking for information about Bin Laden you should always head to reputable news sites where you can be sure of the content and the links.

Tax refund scams

As I mentioned earlier, variations of this scam have been around for years. In fact, as far as phishing tricks go; this isn’t a very sophisticated one.

Phishing scammers usually masquerade as a bank or public body in order to get their hands on your private information. One example of this is the tax refund scam which has reared its ugly head again over the last few months as the new tax year rolled round. This scam involves an e-mail sent out by the fraudsters asking for your bank details in order for a hefty tax refund to be paid into your account.

Obviously no such refund exists and if you do hand over your details you could see your bank account emptied and identity stolen.

So if you receive any such e-mail purporting to be from HMRC and offering you a refund, delete it immediately. HMRC only ever contacts customers by post and will never send out e-mails requesting personal information.

The same goes for any e-mails claiming to be from your bank – if it asks for personal details; delete it!

Top tips

Here are a few other ways you can avoid phishing scams:

E-mail address: It sounds obvious, but if you receive an e-mail that appears to be from your bank, the first thing to check is that it’s been sent to the address you registered with.

You should also look carefully at the address the e-mail has been sent from; reference it to previous authentic e-mails you have received from the company or body to check if it’s official. Scammers will often use e-mail addresses that look convincing at a first glance, but are actually completely bogus. If in doubt, phone up the company or body in question and check.

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Wording: Scammers will often use generic templates when sending out phishing e-mails. So if the e-mail starts “Dear customer...” alarm bells should start to ring.

Poor spelling and grammar are another giveaway of a scam e-mail, so keep your eyes peeled for typos and clumsy wording.

Requests: As I mentioned earlier, banks and public bodies will never ask for personal details over e-mail. So if you receive a request, it’s almost certainly a scam. You should be especially suspicious if the e-mail attempts to panic you into handing over your details by stating that your account has been compromised or rushes you by setting tight deadlines for replying.

Links: Never click on any links from suspicious e-mails and those from unknown senders. If an e-mail claims to be from HMRC, manually key in HMRC’s URL and find the desired page yourself.

Hovering over any links and checking that the typed URL matches the actual link displayed at the bottom of the screen is another good way of identifying scam e-mails. Find out more in Eight ways to spot a phishing scam.

Let us know

Have you ever been caught out by a phishing scam? What are your tips on avoiding them?

Let us know your thoughts in the comment box below.

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