Fact Check

Malaysia MH370 Plane Found in Bermuda Triangle

Don't follow links posted on Facebook that supposedly point to a video of the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. They're just more scam bait.

Published March 13, 2014

Claim:

Claim:   Links posted on Facebook point to a video of the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.


FALSE


Examples:  


[Collected via e-mail, March 2014]

Video of Malaysia MH370 Plane found in Bermuda Triangle! Passengers alive!

insidevideo.net

Breaking news video footage of this miracle just released on CNN!



 

Origins:   In March 2014, Facebook users begin seeing posts that featured a snapshot of an airliner afloat in water with a caption describing it as the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, supposedly "found in [the] Bermuda Triangle" with "Passengers alive!"

These come-ons typically included titillating tag lines such as "Breaking news video footage of this miracle just released on CNN!" to entice Facebook users to click on hyperlinks in expectation of viewing video footage of this enthralling news story.

There was no such video to be seen, however. Users who did click through on such links were taken to a faux Facebook page which eventually led them down the trail of the usual survey scam, directing them to "like" or "share" links with their Facebook friends and complete online surveys, all with the goal of getting them to enrich scammers by disclosing sensitive personal information, spreading malware, buying products, and signing up for costly, difficult-to-cancel services.

The image accompanying such posts actually shows a Lion Air Boeing 737 airliner that careered off a runway and crashed into the sea in Bali in April 2013 (with no fatalities).

Last updated:   13 March 2014

David Mikkelson founded the site now known as snopes.com back in 1994.