A series of posts have surfaced on Facebook that claim actor Jim Carrey has died in a snowboarding accident. Many of these posts are directing users to spammy rogue Facebook apps that harvest your personal information and may be able to post spammy links from your account should you give them permission.
The posts are directing users to a host of spammy webpages which in turn automatically direct users to install any number of spammy Facebook apps. We’ve seen at least 7 different versions of the near identical scam directing users to various rogue Facebook apps.
You can see an example below.
BREAKING NEW: Jim Carrey had passed away in a ‘snowboarding accident’
Watch the leakage footage crashed of Jim Carrey
Many of these links also claim to show leaked footage of the fatal accident.
Jim Carrey has not died, and has not been involved in a snowboarding accident. These links are designed to attract clicks to spammy webpages and lure people into installing rogue Facebook apps.
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It is vital that Facebook users be cautious about what Facebook apps they install since they are able to obtain various information about you and the information you share on Facebook. If given the correct permissions, they can also post from your account and even send spammy links to your friends via chat.
It is worth noting that news stories like this should only be obtained from reputable online news media, and not links on Facebook.
Avoid installing Facebook apps you do not trust, and don’t install apps to get information on a “breaking news story” or to see “leaked footage”. Also be cautious of many apps that claim to provide some kind of quiz or test. See our articles on how to be wary of spammy Facebook apps here.
