Figure 1. Hoax spread on Facebook
How does it work and spread?
Clicking the scam link leads users to the Facebook app. Many different applications could be created for this purpose and they can look really trustworthy. These malicious applications have permission to post on your Facebook – spreading this scam all over again.
Figure 2. Example of fake warnings on Apple devices
Figure 3. Example of fake warnings on Android devices
These fake “Your device is infected” warnings are offering you to remove viruses by activating premium-rate SMS subscription or lead you to download app from the App Store.
If user will open fake hoax post on Facebook he gets redirected to attacker’s web page where installing of malicious app will pops up. After approving and installing application to Facebook profile user is switched back to attacker’s web page with popping ads or scareware. Take a look at short video example how most of these hoaxes and scams spread on Facebook.
Figure 4. Example of death hoax spread on Facebook
How to get rid of it?
If you were a victim of this or similar scams, here is how you can remove these malicious apps from your Facebook account. If you are not sure whether you allowed access to any application, you can check that in your Facebook account by going to Settings -> Apps. There you can get rid of any suspicious apps. Clicking on application name, you can check its permission and decide whether to remove it or not.
Figure 5. Example of infected apps