Chuck Norris, iconic martial arts movie star, law-enforcing Texas Ranger and the only man who can do a wheelie on a unicycle and slam a revolving door, is alive, well and delivering a swift roundhouse kick, despite a Facebook scam claiming he's dead.
Spotted by researchers at the security company Sophos, the scam has been spreading around Facebook with a message saying, "Chuck Norris dies at age 71! Not a joke. See the video to find out how he died."
In an attempt to come across as legitimate, the scam plays into the humor surrounding Chuck Norris' fabled absurdly macho qualities. The message says, "don't know if I should be sad or make a joke," followed by a link to the supposed video showing how the "Delta Force" star, and the man who can complete a cross-country race in one step and put out forest fires with his spit, met his maker.
The link doesn't take users to the video, because of course there is no video, but instead it directs them to a survey scam that asks people to hand over their contact information and date of birth for the chance to win an iPad 2, a 52" Sony Bravia HDTV or a free Starbucks gift card.
Aside from the seemingly impossible idea that anybody is able to kill Chuck Norris, if you come across this message, ignore it. Even if it's posted on a friend's page — it just means that person has fallen for it. Facebook is a perfect breeding ground for rumors and scams, and just because something has a video attached to it, it does not mean it's safe to click. Be skeptical about links and "shocking" news stories, and make sure you're running strong anti-virus software on your system to give you an extra piece of artillery against scams. Not against Chuck Norris, of course. No anti-virus software can protect you from him.
