Be wary of scammers looking to take advantage of the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 tragedy by setting up fake Facebook pages in the name of victims of the tragedy.

Scammers have set up false Facebook profiles for Australian victims of the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 tragedy in an attempt to make money from people interested in finding out more about this international tragedy. The profiles direct people to a blog, where they are then bombarded with dubious advertisements.

If you click on the advertisement, the scammer can make money from the advertising ‘service’ (where they receive advertising revenue for each click through to a client’s website or product). The blog or advertisement may also be infected with malware, thereby compromising your computer’s security.

Beware – scammers have also been known to take advantage of major news stories including tragedies to seek donations for fake charities. Scammers use social networking platforms to promote these schemes.

If you want to find out more about the Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17, only use reliable news sources and be particularly wary of links posted on social networking sites– unfortunately scammers like to connect with people through these forums, too.

How this scam works

Scam advertising services

• Scammers set up a false Facebook page using the name of a victim of the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 tragedy. The Facebook page directs you to a blog that it purports has information on the Flight MH17 tragedy.
• If you click on the link to the blog, you will be subject to a series of pop-up advertisements.
• If you click on the advertisement, the scammer will then make money from the ‘click-through’ by driving potential customers to a business’s website.

Malware Scam

• Alternatively, the site that you are directed to may contain infected ads, which if you click on could cause malware to install on your computer. The scammers may have also set up malware to be downloaded when you click on the link to the blog.
• If a scammer has infected your computer with malware, they may be able to access your personal information stored on the computer, including financial details. They may then be able to use this access to commit identity theft or steal your money.