Facebook scams can be super convincing or laughably dumb. But this one is just downright mean.

While there might be some in my circle who would disagree, I generally consider myself level-headed and not prone to falling for phishing scams—though, admittedly, this time came close.

GONE PHISHIN'

Phishing scams of the Facebook type typically use forceful, emotionally-charged messages to get you to click on a link, which will then take you to a page where you have to re-enter your password. It's that precious password of yours they're after.

This particular post was from a Facebook friend where I and 8 other people were tagged. It said:

I can't believe he is gone, i'm gonna miss him so much

This was accompanied by a link to a news story about a fatal accident. And guess what? This idiot clicked on it. The link then took me to a page where they wanted me to re-enter my Facebook credentials. Thankfully, here is where I realized the scam, and I did not do that. But just in case there was a breach, I quickly changed my password.

Why did I fall for this?

The reason I fell for the initial click was because the poster was a former work colleague, and the other people he tagged in the post I also knew from that workplace. So this gave the scam some credibility, as if maybe the "person who is gone" was also from said workplace. So, that's what got me.

There are other variants of this same trick, preying on the idea that a tragedy has taken place.

Earlier this year I got a private DM from another Facebook friend with the message "Look who died in an accident. I think you know him. So sorry." There may or may not be crying emojis attached at the end of it, along with a suspicious link. 

If you encounter a message like either of the two above, report it to Facebook immediately.

WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU'VE ACCIDENTALLY CLICKED?

If you think you've clicked on a suspicious link, experts say the first thing you should do is change your Facebook password immediately. They also say you should disconnect from the internet to help prevent further communication between your devices and whatever might be phishing you.

Remember to always exercise caution when clicking a link on Facebook messenger, no matter how trustworthy it may appear.