If you come across a link on Facebook that claims to be a video message from Robin Williams - a final goodbye to his fans - please do not click it as it is an online scam.
According to social media experts, the viral link was created by scammers to misuse the death of the veteran actor, in order to make personal gains.
The actor-comedian hanged himself in his San Francisco Bay home and the suicide note has been withheld by the police for the time being, though it is set to be released later. But that has not stopped many from speculating.
Computer security vendor Symantec was the first to warn people that scamsters are targeting Facebook users, through a link to a supposed goodbye message from Williams, using a fake BBC webpage.
"There is no video. Users that click on the link to the supposed video are taken to a fake BBC News website. As with many social scams, users are required to perform actions before they can view the content. In this case, users are instructed to share the video on Facebook before watching," Satnam Narang of Symantec security stated on the company's blog.
Narang pointed out that the scams may have started as early as 48 hours after the news about Williams' death broke. He advised the public to be "vigilant and skeptical" when reading sensational stories on social media sites.
The hoax has reportedly been shared over 24 million times on Facebook.
"Scammers operating these sites use affiliate programs to earn money for the completion of surveys and file downloads," Narang said, adding Symantec has alerted Facebook about this.
However, months before taking his life, Williams had actually sent a video message about hope, support and love to a young, terminally ill New Zealand woman.
In the short message to the 21-year cancer patient, Williams says: "Hi Vivian... it's Robin Williams here saying 'hey girl what's going on down there in New Zealand'. I'm sending all my love to you, Jack and Sophie... knock this off your bucket list."
Williams then breaks into a brief song, and says that he's "channeling Matthew McConaughey" before signing off with "much love to you baby".
