Iggy Azalea, the popular, young Australian rapper is at the center of a controversy regarding the existence or non-existence of a sex tape.  Steven Hirsch of the adult film company Vivid Entertainment which has released numerous other celebrity sex tapes says that he has obtained such a video, while Azalea now admits that the video may indeed be legitimate after initially denying that it was genuine.  Meanwhile, to no one’s surprise supposed leaks of the tape are purportedly turning up on the Internet where the curious can put themselves in serious risk of identity theft by clicking on links in emails, text messages or social media postings promising to take you to the purported tape.  Other times, you may find yourself being prompted online to update your video capabilities on your computer or other electronic in order to view the video.  Again, this is just a ruse to lure you into downloading dangerous keystroke logging malware that will steal information from your computer and use it to turn you into a victim of identity theft.

TIPS

Without even getting into the question of the morality and ethics of looking for material such as this or the stolen videos of Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton and other celebrities, the truth is that you cannot trust any text message, email, social media posting that promises you such tantalizing material.  The chances are just too great that by clicking on any of these links or downloading attachments you will be downloading malware that will be used to steal your identity.  As for websites that turn up on Google and other search engines promising to provide you with these videos, scammers are adept at manipulating the algorithms used by search engines to rank websites so that although you may think you are looking at a legitimate website, you are not.  It is also important to remember that even if you have kept your anti-malware and anti-virus software up to date, that is of little consolation since these security software programs are always at least a month behind the latest malware and viruses.  If you need to satisfy your curiosity for gossipy material, stick to legitimate websites such as http://www.tmz.com.