Unscrupulous scammers are aiming to take advantage of the news of former Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ death, security experts have warned. Sophos’ Graham Cluley spotted a Facebook scam that claims Apple is giving away iPads in memory of Steve Jobs.
However, if you click on the link then you’ll be asked to fill in online surveys to qualify for one of the free iPads that are supposedly being given away. But it is definitely a scam, Cluley said.
“If you were one of those people who clicked on the link you may be wondering what the chances are that you will receive a free iPad. I hate to disappoint you, but it’s pretty unlikely,” he said.
Though you’re not at risk of being infected by malware from this particular scam, Cluley said, you are still being taken advantage of.
“How do the scammers make money? Well, they are earning affiliate cash – in a nutshell, they make more money the more traffic they can direct to these online surveys and competitions.”
But future scams using the same tactics could prove dangerous for the health of your PC or Mac, he warned.
“Cynically, they exploited the death of Steve Jobs in the hope of driving large numbers of internet users to the competition webpages. The fact is, of course, that they could just as easily have taken those users to a webpage containing malicious code or a phishing page designed to steal credentials.
As Cluley points out, if you want to pay tribute to Steve Jobs, the best way of doing so is on the Apple website.
