Facebook posts saying a friend "died in an accident" with a link

The Scam

According to the Grant County Sheriff's Office in Washington, fake Facebook posts are made to look like real news reports about a death, often with photos of police vehicles and yellow crime scene tape. Scammers typically tag several people in a post claiming a mutual friend died in an accident. The sheriff's office said clicking the link can lead to a fake Facebook login page built to steal passwords, or can download malicious software onto a phone or computer. Once scammers control an account, they use it to share the same fake notice with that person's entire friend list, which spreads the scam further.

The Targets

Facebook users, especially people tagged in posts that appear to come from friends, according to the sheriff's office.

Red flags

• A post about a friend's death that tags many people and includes a link
• Photos of police cars or yellow crime scene tape made to look like a news story
• A link that asks you to log in to Facebook again before you can see the story
• A link that tries to download a file or app

Your Move

• Don't click links in suspicious posts, even when they come from a friend's account
• If you entered your login on a page from one of these links, change your Facebook password right away, plus any other account that uses the same password
• If you downloaded a file or app from the post, scan your device with trusted security software
• Report the post to Facebook
• Contact the friend another way, like a phone call or text, to check on them and let them know if their account looks hacked

More steps for any scam link: I clicked a scam link. What now?

Still circulating?

The Grant County Sheriff's Office in Washington warned about these posts in late October 2026, as reported by KIRO 7 on Oct. 30, 2026.

Related sources

• KPQ: NCW authorities warning of fake death notice and nursing home scams (Oct. 28, 2026)
• Facebook Help Center: Protect yourself from phishing on Facebook