Steve Jobs scam alert

Even as the world grieves the death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, scamsters are already trying to take advantage of the bad news, warns the Better Business Bureau (BBB).

According the consumer and business protection organization, the scams started within hours of Steve Jobs’ death. As an example, one scam attempted to take advantage of Facebook users in a post reading, “In memory of Steve, a company is giving out 50 iPads tonight. R.I.P. Steve Jobs.”

The post included a link directing users to a page asking them to complete online surveys. There were, of course, no free iPads to be given out; instead the scammer’s goal was to drive traffic to a website where he or she would earn a commission for every survey completed.

The link went through the bit.ly service and the company has since shut it down, but not before thousands of people clicked on it, the BBB reports.

In similar cases, scammers may also earn a percentage of every product purchased, or they may spread malware or seek to obtain personal information or compromise accounts.

Scams like this are common after the death of a celebrity, the BBB says, and this could just be the beginning of scams that will try to make money off of Jobs’ death.

To protect themselves users need to remain vigilant and follow basic cyber safety rules such as avoiding offers that sound questionable or ‘too good to be true’. Other precautions include deleting questionable emails and being cautious about clinking on links that offer something for free.