That free iPhone 5 on Facebook? It's a scam!

Now that Apple Inc.’s new iPad has been unveiled, cyber-criminals are refocusing on yet another popular would-be product: the controversial —but still non-existent— iPhone 5.

 

Computer security firm Sophos reported that the new scam lures in its victims with the promise of an iPhone 5 in exchange for answering a survey on Facebook.

 

“First of all, Apple has not announced an ‘iPhone 5’ yet, and the most recent iPhone (namely, the iPhone 4S) was announced just over five months ago in October, making it rather unlikely that Apple would already announce its replacement,” it said.

 

It also reminded the public Apple has never made any product announcement, much less given away free products, through Facebook.

 

Sophos said victims who followed the link to find out more will be presented with a Facebook public event page that claims to offer iPhones.

 

They are eventually led to a survey scam page that even asks them for their email and shipping addresses.

 

“Don’t fall for survey scams; they only waste time, lead to disappointment, and can expose your private information to fraudsters,” Sophos warned.

 

Security researcher Joshua "JoshMeister" Long said that those who click on the links are presented with a JavaScript alert and are redirected to potentially malicious sites. — TJD, GMA News