Despite the fact that a death hoax has taken over the internet multiple times, Rowan Atkinson is not dead. The latest viral death hoax claimed that the actor died in a car crash while doing a stunt. But turns out that it was an attempt to spread a computer virus.
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The article claiming the death of the Mr Bean star first came out in July 2017. Later, Rowan Atkinson again fell victim to a second hoax that falsely claimed his death too.
The latest hoax came with a video that had a play button. The video tribute to Atkinson was featured from ‘FOX BREAKING NEWS’ and had his birth and death dates next to the preview image. As soon as people tried to watch it, it would lead them to a website where they would be asked to share it on Facebook. After sharing and completing a security test, the site would offer a support phone number. Apparently, that is where the scammers were trying to retrieve credit card information from callers. And the support would offer you to purchase a software fix that automatically riddled the person’s computer with viruses.
As pathetic as it is, Rowan Atkinson is not the only star to fall victim to a death hoax. Previously, the Jurassic Park actor Jeff Goldblum was also reported to have been dead. His mom even believed the rumor and Goldblum shared that,
Yes, someone had put online that I had fallen off a cliff in New Zealand. Before we got the word out and I could call everybody, yes, my mom. She called and was like, ‘Jeffrey, are you alright? Are you alright?’ And then a friend of mine very tearfully and hysterically left a message.
By the looks of it, online scammers have been repeatedly using celebrity rumors to target people online.
These are attempts to steal their personal data which can be later manipulated. This has been confirmed by the anti-virus service McAfee. According to the reports by McAfee, Singer Shawn Mendes topped last year’s list on being the most dangerous celebrities to search for online.
For all those who are worrying about Mr Bean being dead need to stay calm. The myth debunking website Hoax Slayer has urged people to not click on any video that says otherwise. It said that,
You will be prompted to call a ‘support number’ urgently to seek help with the supposed security issue. However, if you do call as instructed, tech support scammers will try to trick you into giving them your credit card details, ostensibly to pay for the repair of your computer. The scammers may also try to trick you into downloading software that will allow them to take control of your computer, steal your files, and install malware.
Safe to say that even when being aware of scams is more important, we are more focused on the news that Mr Bean is alive!
