According to Cyber experts said Thursday that people shouldn’t click on online news stories and advertising banners claiming actress Angelina Jolie has committed suicide.
The assertion is false, and some of those stories and ads contain ransomware.
Ransomware is distributed by hackers who try to pressure victims into paying them a ransom in exchange for having their computers returned to normal operations.
Analysts also said some of the false Jolie stories are linking people to tech-support centers trying to extort money from people.
“A user will see an alert pop up that says their computer has been infected and that information has been stolen,” said Stephen Cobb, a senior research at the San Diego office of ESET, a digital security company.
“If you hear about a salacious story, go to Google and check on it, or go to CNN to see what they’re saying.”