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Fake Malaysia Airlines links spread malware

Don't click that link! Viral Facebook posts with shocking video of Malaysia Airlines MH370 are a scam.

Chenda Ngak Editor / CBSNews.com
Chenda Ngak is CBSNews.com's Science & Technology Editor.
Chenda Ngak
2 min read
Screenshot by Eric Mack/CNET

Don't click on any link that says it has shocking video of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. According to multiple reports, links promising resolution for the missing Flight MH370 are scams.

Videos with titles like "Malaysian Airlines missing flight MH370 found in Sea -- 50 people alive saved" have spread through social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, Wired U.K reports. Malware intelligence analyst at Malwarebytes Chris Boyd told Wired that links being spread through Twitter originally appeared on Facebook.

The blog Hoax-Slayer.com warned of a fake news link claiming that the Malaysian plane has been found in the Bermuda Triangle. According to blogger Brett M. Christensen, the photos used to promote the video is from an April 2013 Lion Air plane crash near Bali.

Facebook users lured by shocking videos typically find that they must complete a survey before continuing. Christensen says the links are designed to look like a Facebook survey, requesting permission to gain access to your profile.

Giving permission to your profile could give hackers personal information, like phone numbers and e-mail addresses. Scam artists seek a payday from affiliate marketing schemes that pay money when a user participates in a survey.

A spokesperson for Facebook told CBS News that the company has removed the links. Phishing and spam are a violation of the social network's community standards.

This story originally appeared as "Malaysia Airlines MH370 found in the Bermuda Triangle? Not a chance" on CBSNews.com.