A new scam on Facebook is spreading rapidly as more users fall victim to it, triggering a warning from the Spanish Consumers’ Association.

The new scam consists of tagging the social media user in a publication announcing the death or accident of a person by means of a link from which they can obtain personal data.

“Look who’s dead”, “I can’t believe he’s had an accident” and “Holy sh*t, he’s died in an accident” are some of the texts that appear in the post in which they tag the user. These are then accompanied by a link seeking to gain access to the Facebook account. “If we click on the link, it doesn’t take us to a news article, but it will download malware onto your phone or computer that gives hackers access to your Facebook login information,” the association pointed out.

By doing so, the crooks manage to gain access to your account and spread the scam by sending messages from your account to other Facebook users on your friends list.

The Spanish Consumers’ Association recommends following these steps if you have been a victim of this fraud:

1. Verify your account to make sure you are not blocked.

2. If we still have access, we must immediately change the password so that the hacker can no longer log in to the account.

3. Report the problem to the social network that the scammers have used.

4. It is also recommended to go to the security settings and log out of any location or device that is not recognised.

5. In the general settings, make sure to check the email addresses linked to your account. Delete the unknown ones.