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Brad Pitt is not dead - Facebook warns users

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Following Angelina Jolie’s filing for divorce, an article falsified to look like it was published by Fox News has started making the rounds on Facebook with the extremely clickable headline “R.I.P Brad Pitt.”

Fortunately, Pitt is not dead. The post is merely a hoax that has been created by a savvy hacker to trick vulnerable users into handing over their email address, password and other personal details.

Clicking the headline redirects users to an application riddled with malware.

They are asked to fill in their Facebook credentials to read the story. However, instead of signing them in, the app grants itself access to their profile and instantly scans their devices for personal information to relay to the hacker.

Readers who bypassed the permission pop-up were redirected to this fake news story about the actor's alleged death:

"Brad Pitt, 52, a multiawarded American actor and husband of Angelina Jolie, 41, shot himself in the head at a shooting range on Sunday. He was under significant stress because the couple 'were going through a divorce and he had a history of depression', sources have said."

If you are already a victim to this scam it is best to change your Facebook password immediately. If you use the same password elsewhere it would be best to do the same.

Facebook is also recommending that you run its malware scanner to determine if your device has been compromised.

Use this link to find information about Facebook's malware scanner.

Lost access to your account? Use this link to contact Facebook to explain the issue and it’ll do its best to verify your identity and regain access to your account.

Brad Pitt, Facebook

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