My, some entrepreneurial types sure are clever and quick. Over the last few days, it’s become clear that among the certainties in life, here’s one: No matter if it’s the wedding of the world’s most famous couple or the killing of the world’s most notorious terrorist, a big event is an opportunity for somebody to make money.
Online scammers jumped into action almost immediately after getting the news of bin Laden’s death, reports the LA Times. No official videos or photos of bin Laden’s body have been released, but that hasn’t stopped millions of people from searching for them online. And cyber criminals are doing their best to scam those millions of searchers—often, redirecting them to web pages where they could unknowingly download malicious software. In one scam, a fake BBC Facebook page purportedly linked to video of the killing.
The takeaway: Unless you’re 100% certain a site is legit, don’t enter your credit card number or download anything. That goes if you’re curious to learn about a terrorist’s demise, you want the inside scoop on a royal wedding, or you’re trying to help victims of a tsunami or some other disaster. The scammers are out there, and they’re quicker than ever.
Meanwhile, USA Today rounds up some of the many, many T-shirts, coffee mugs, ties, bumper stickers, and even dog clothing that have been specially designed to mark—and often, mock—bin Laden’s death.
Here’s one example from Zazzle, where consumers design their own original ideas. This one manages to combine bin Laden’s death with another recent fascination, Charlie Sheen:
Here’s another, a popular stick figure design for $20 from tshirthell.com:
One of the OBL-themed many baseball hats designed at Zazzle:
And next to the “One-of-a-Kind Mother’s Day Gifts” at CafePress are items like this onesie:
This color is called petal pink. It also comes in sky blue, kiwi (green), and white. Take your pick, $15.
Also available as a maternity shirt ($28).
