Adam Levine is dead at 35. At least that's what a new circulating report is claiming. The report which landed on Facebook got the attention of many netizens right away since it claims that the Maroon 5 frontman and 'The Voice' judge has passed away due to drug overdose.
"[BREAKING NEWS] ADAM LEVINE of Maroon 5 Dies at 35 from Drug Overdose ... Was reported Dead on Arrival after being rescued from a Drug ...," the title of the circulating report reads.
Because the report was getting much attention online, several news sites picked it up and probed deep whether the report is true.
MStarz and International Business Times are just a few of the sites that featured the "Adam Levine is dead" report, and slammed it for its fake content.
Upon clicking the link to the alleged news story on how Adam Levine died, users are directed to another page, one that would ask them for their personal account information.
MStarz noted that the page is designed to obtain personal information from netizens while sending them dangerous, malicious malware.
However, many fans were still tricked by the hoax, and several of them even took it to Twitter to express their thoughts on the issue.
@sarakha04405818: "Is Adam Levine really dead??? Plz someone tell?? Im worried!!"
@Maroon5GIGGs: "Retweet if you hate all the celebrity death scams going on! Especially this one about #adamlevine #maroon5."
@thewendynator: "This is just another death hoax. I'm pretty sure you're still alive, @adamlevine. Riiiiighhhhttttt???"
@dancingdaninini: "This Adam Levine death hoax ain't cool. NOT. COOL. AT ALL."
According to David Emery of About.com this type of reports are made to generate online traffic. "clickjacking attacks rely on the false promise of lurid and shocking content to lure users onto sites where they're asked to take surveys or view promotional content, generating revenue for the scammers. They also request access to users' profile info and permission to post on their behalf, which is how the scams are propagated... Users are prompted to download malicious software. "
It can be noted that a notorious death hoax site called Global Associated News also claimed that Adam Levine died due to a car crash in Australia last December.
Adam Levine joins a long list of celebrities and personalities who became victims of these online death hoaxes. Other celebs who reportedly died due to a celebrity death hoax include: Morgan Freeman, Robert Pattinson, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Blake Lively, Phil Collins, and many more.
