“Hidden Iron Man 2 scene” Facebook scam

Curiosity – that drive to know new things – is a double-edged sword. It fuels our inclination towards exploration and, consequently, learning, but it can also occasionally lead us to trouble.

When it comes to clicking on malicious links that pop up on messages on social networking sites, it seems that our curiosity works heavily against us. The latest example of this natural human tendency getting exploited is the “hidden Iron Man 2 scene” scam lurking on Facebook:

According to CA, the link in the message redirects users to a website outside Facebook, where they are told to click on the provided “Like” button in order to view the video. If they do, the same message that led them to this site will appear on their friends’ News Feed – in search for more victims.

Luckily for all of them, the link does not lead to malware or a malicious website that could compromise their system. But, instead of seeing the video, the victims are presented with a unexpected request of confirming their Facebook account:

Offering them $110 in phone credit, the scammers trick the gullible users into sharing their mobile number – making them part of their pool of numbers that will be receiving unsolicited offers via text messages.

If you did fall for this scam – or a similar one – do yourself and your contacts a favor and remove the site from your Facebook Wall and in your Profile Likes and Interests.