Sophos Cloud Optix
Facebook scammers are claiming that teen hearthrob Justin Bieber has been stabbed in an attempt to trick concerned fans into clicking on a link which will earn them money.
The messages, which include a thumbnail image of a young man’s back badly slashed with a knife, say that the pint-sized singer was stabbed by a crazed fan outside a nightclub in Los Angeles.
A typical message spreading on Facebook looks as follows:
Justin Bieber STABBED By CRAZED Fan Outside L.A. NightClub!
[LINK]
OMG! NOOOO! Could YOU Even Imagine?!?
Other versions claim that Bieber was stabbed (again by a crazed fan) outside a nightclub in New York:
Justin Bieber STABBED By CRAZED Fan Outside N.Y.C. NightClub!
The truth is, of course, that no such stabbing took place, in either city. If it had, then it would surely be making headlines on the websites of established news organisations such as the BBC and CNN.
But Bieber’s young fanbase is unlikely to check their facts before clicking on the link to discover more about the alleged injury.
And if users do make the mistake of clicking on the link they are taken to a webpage with what appears to be a YouTube video, presumably of the fictional stabbing.
However, you will notice that visitors are asked to share the link on Facebook before they may watch the video.
In their desperation to learn more about Justin Bieber’s health, young fans may be only too willing to spread the link to their Facebook friends – thus helping the scam spread virally.
However, the truth soon becomes apparent. Because the next thing users will see is that they are required to complete a survey before they will be allowed to watch the video.
The scammers earn commission for every survey they manage to trick users into taking. They are only using the claim that Justin Bieber has been stabbed to try to lure as many people as possible into spreading their link, and taking their money-making surveys.
If you were fooled into participating in this scam remove the message from your newsfeed, and delete any messages you may have inadvertently shared with your friends. That way at least you are no longer spreading it with your online chums. You can also report the link as spam – hopefully if enough people do it, Facebook will begin to stop the scam from spreading.
Make sure that you keep informed about the latest scams spreading fast across Facebook and other internet attacks. Join the Sophos page on Facebook, where over 150,000 people regularly share information on threats and discuss the latest security news.
Image of Justin Bieber courtesy of
Helga Esteb / Shutterstock.com.
I'm sure many people were hoping it was true 🙂
Thats ugly. Shame on you
First, this is a fake pic, story, and a scam. Secondly, had this actually happened, or worse…Someone else would just end up taking his place, and eventually the world would forget about Bieber and move on and the world would have someone new to love/hate. "Here today, gone tomorrow" I could sit here and tell you all the reasons why I don't like this girly little bastard, but it's useless because when he's gone and forgotten, I'd be sitting here saying the same shit about someone else that fills in the void that he left.
Pitty, I thought that was genuine. Must have just been wishful thinking.
*** Richard · 59 minutes ago
Pitty, I thought that was genuine. Must have just been wishful thinking.
***
about 1% of ppl would prob laugh at that. To wish anyone dead or injured no matter who it is,is sick man realy sick
The funny thing is that 99% of the Human Race is sick. Its the 1% that is in denial.
Just trawl a few social networks and the proof very quickly becomes evident.
I agree with mr. tunes. the 1% who is sick would prob laugh.
I laughed
Freude im Elend anderer = enjoyment in the misary of others
Regardless of the subject,the root problem is the fact that people lust for 'news' and 'freebies',esp. software,ie: pirated,plus some have no other reason to use the Internet,except to forward "junk mail" and 'virus warnings' and they just WON'T use any LOGIC and COMMON SENSE(some don't even use AV software!)and as a result are prime targets for these "virus hackers" who exploit this 'weakness.'
Really???? You really think CNN would find this news worthy if it were real? Please…
F*CK! Hes Alive?
SCUMBAGS!
this is out of control. fb was meant as a social network for friends and share pics chat and catch up. now look at it… what a shame.
damn, i had my hopes up
I must be sick I was interested in seeing so i could laugh
Well did any of you see that the message said that he was attacked out side of a night club in NYC not LA. Learn how to read.
learn to read for yourself dipshit. There are two variants of the message, as mentioned on this page, third paragraph. *smh* This is the future of America….
@Richard – you hit the nail on the head man. 99%….deny if it helps you sleep at night.
It is amusing to see the pluses and minuses to this. The people that wish for his pain or death are getting pluses and those that defend him are getting minuses. That is only proof of Richard's statement. Kudos, dude
ummm, actually no if you know anything about statistics is that the people who actually are on here commenting do it by choice(voluntary response). So, it doesn't reflect the population. The "proof" isn't true or realistic.
The picture being used on Facebook is actually a picture of a man that was stabbed by an ms-13 gang member with a machete. It was on gangland.
What a mean trick…. Here I was hoping that the little Shieber was hospitalized… :'(
I think that these people or the person who made this up and started it is plain ass sick ! ! People will stoop to new lows to make themselves some quick cash no matter how much this hurts someone.
If you know Justin, you know he is way too skinny and that is not his back. People are so crewed up.
and if you take a look there are a lot of layers of obfuscated JS code in it 😉 …lot of fun with malzilla 😛
Lol I think it was more aimed at the people that was hoping it would happen and not the "concerned". That being said they probably made a buttload of money on this haha
that doesnt look like stabbing to me it looks more like cutting/slashing lol stabbing would just be small but deep cuts
Unfortunately, this is not happening to just "young" fans of Justin Bieber. There must be more to it because I've seen women in their sixties who supposedly "liked" the link. There are too many people having this link show up on their FB pages who I know would never give one piece of damn about Justin Bieber and would never like or even read an article about him.
This is because too many people thrive on others misery. Those people can't stay away from any article good or bad, but especially bad, about any movie stars or musicians. Many in our society just don't have much of a life of their own and are looking for a thrill no matter the cost to others as long as they get what they want… Sad really…
This is freaking ridiculous!! I enjoy fb because I'm a long way from family and friends and this is m only way to keep in touch!!! Why do people have to be such idiots??
Is this true that justin got stabbed outside of the nightclub?
Is this true