RIP Steve Jobs scam exploits Apple fans’ misery

WITHIN hours of the death of Apple founder Steve Jobs, internet scammers were trying to make money out of the news, by luring Facebook users into filling out surveys with the false promise of a free iPad "in memory of Steve".

The 15,000 or so victims who fell for the scam were sent a message, headlined RIP Steve Jobs, which claimed Apple was giving away the devices. But the URL was hidden using the bit.ly service, which disguises the address of the actual site you are visiting. Those who clicked on the link were not sent to the Apple site, but another page where they were encouraged to fill out a survey to qualify for a prize.

By tricking people into filling out the surveys or linking them through to other sites the scammers earn money as they are paid for driving traffic to certain web pages.

One of those who saw the Facebook post was Graham Cluley of the Naked Security website, who had the link to the affiliate site disabled. But he noted: "Chances are that this won't be the only scam we see regarding the untimely death of Steve Jobs. It wouldn't be a surprise, for instance, to see scams which might try to take advantage of those moved by the loss of Apple's founder with lures like 'Donate to Steve's favourite charities as a tribute'."

There is a certain irony to the fact that the first high-profile Jobs death scam appeared on Facebook. Its founder Mark Zuckerberg was a fan of Apple and after hearing that Jobs had died, posted a message on the site that read: "Steve, thank you for being a mentor and a friend. Thanks for showing that what you build can change the world. I will miss you." ·