MH17: Facebook closes fake passengers' accounts

Six Facebook accounts opened using the names of passengers on board the ill-fated Malaysia Airlines (MAS) MH17 flight have been irresponsibly misused by certain quarters with the contentious intention to cheat, Canberra Times reported. All the accounts contained links to a blog with information containing the catastrophe. Netizens who visit the blog will be inadvertently bombarded with notifications including ‘get-rich-quick’ schemes, products and services advertisements. Mashable has reported that Facebook is removing all the accounts. When news of the MH370 tragedy occurred some four months ago, similar incident took place. Besides the fake Facebook accounts, some videos as well as fake news have been making the rounds on social media. Some of the news even claimed that MH370 was found. Visitors who have visited the fake links will be directed to the other websites only to learn that their personal information is revealed along with some malicious software (malware). Elsewhere outside the digital realm, fraudsters and robbers are presumably rampant. Reporters at the MAS jetliner MH71 crash site claimed that victims’ bags were ransacked and personal belongings including purses, jewellery and credit cards were stolen. On Saturday, the Netherlands Banking Association released a statement requesting all banks in the country to monitor the use of credit cards from Ukraine. In an act of benevolent, the bank has also expressed its willingness to pay compensation to losses due to any possible usage of stolen credit cards.