Brad Pitt death hoax story on Facebook is a malware masquerading as Fox news report

Amid the Bragelina drama, hackers have gone ahead and declared Brad Pitt dead in a false story that is masquerading as a Fox news report on Facebook. The story is a typical malware run by hackers to gain access to personal information.

The article - FOX BREAKING NEWS: BRAD PITT found dead (SUICIDE) - has been doing the rounds on Facebook since Pitt and his estranged wife Angelina Jolie announced their divorce plans. The link preview on Facebook shows Brad Pitt's black and white picture with RIP on it.

A click on the story directs the users to a permissions page and asks for their user id and password. With this phishing attempt the hacker aims to access the user's account.

Those who managed to bypass the redirected page were able to see a few lines of the hoax story that reads," Brad Pitt, 52, a multi-awarded American actor and husband of Angelina Jolie, 41, shot himself in the head at a shooting range on Sunday. He was under significant stress because the couple were going through a divorce and he had a history of depression."

For those of you who have come across the hoax story and have already clicked on the link, Facebook has suggested to change your passwords as soon as possible. These scams are not new and have been used by hackers to extract personal information and login credentials from users on the social networking site.

"This malware isn't new & is known to come from malicious browser extensions.For several years, Facebook has notified people when we detect malware on their computer & we help them clean it up, "a Facebook spokesperson told CNNMoney.