Fake Georgia Facebook Story May Hide Virus, Cops Say

JACKSON, GA — A heartbreaking story out of Georgia that's picking up steam on Facebook never happened, according to local authorities.

But it may be a front to spread a virus on the social network.

In its most recent version, the headline — shared under a red "Breaking News" banner — reads "2 moms, 5 kids killed in car crash in Butts County."

But the Butts County Sheriff's Office, headquartered in Jackson just south of Atlanta, says no such crash ever happened.

"We have received multiple calls pertaining to an automobile accident occurring in Butts County with multiple fatalities," the sheriff's office said in a Facebook post. "This is FALSE information."

Instead, deputies have learned that clicking on the viral post can spread some kind of virus, the post says.

"PLEASE DO NOT click on or 'share' the link as it apparently hacks your Facebook account after doing so," the sheriff's office said.

Like so many online scams, the fake news plays on emotions in an effort to get readers to click. A snippet of text in the preview below the headline teases that the women and children "died in a fiery wreck in Butts County today" and that "two injured fathers had to be held back from the flames trying to save their families."

A quick Google search of the headline shows Butts County isn't the first spot, in Georgia and elsewhere, to be targeted with the phony post.

Bryan County, Van Buren County and Collier County all immediately pop up in the headline instead of Butts, and digging further finds the same story appearing to originate from spots all over the country.

Each has a link to "newsroom.info" or "county911.info" websites somewhere in their text. Scammers often will create legitimate-seeming Web addresses as they try to lure unwitting users in.

Anyone who thinks they may have used Facebook to click on content that was hiding a virus or other dangerous malware should change their password to the site immediately.

Image via Facebook