Phil Collins is the latest celebrity death hoax  spreading rapidly on Facebook. This is the same bogus site that created the Vanilla Ice hoax earlier this month.

Clicking the wall post takes you to http://phil.collins.swellserver.com/news/top_stories/auto80.php – a peculiar URL for a news site, huh? Also, none of the news category links are active either. The only working links are ones to other bogus stories.

If you scroll to the bottom of the website there is a disclaimer advising people that the story isn’t true:

“about this web site. FAKE… THIS STORY IS 100% FAKE! this is an entertainment website, and this is a totally fake article based on zero truth and is a complete work of fiction for entertainment purposes! this story was dynamically generated using a generic ‘template’ and is not factual. Any reference to specific individuals has been 100% fabricated by web site visitors who have created fake stories by entering a name into a blank ‘non-specific’ template for the purpose of entertainment. For sub-domain info, name removal requests and additional use restrictions: FakeAWish.com”

Usually hoaxes like this are created to drive traffic to advertising sites, generate Adsense revenue or some other monetary incentive.

Always take a moment to check the facts before spreading messages and warnings on Facebook. It might save you some embarassment from your friends. We double checked in Google and other mainstream news sites, and there is no mention of the incident. You can rest assured that if this was indeed a true story, then every major news network would be covering it.

If you or your Facebook friends are falling for tricks like this, it’s time to get yourself informed of the latest threats. Be sure to join the Facecrooks community of 162,000 fans on Facebook to be kept informed of the latest security issues.

Recommended Resources

BitDefender Safego is a Facebook application you can install that will scan your News Feed and help keep you safe from scams on Facebook.

PRIVATE WiFi® is a Personal VPN that encrypts everything you send and receive. Don’t access Facebook from a public WiFi hotspot without it.

Do Not Track + is a FREE browser plugin created by Abine. This easy to install plugin keeps websites from tracking you. If you value your online privacy, then you should definitely take advantage of this free product.

Action Alert | Free Parental Control offers a 100% free Internet safety solution designed for parents. There is also a Maximum Protection option for parents that need a more advanced set of tools.