Be aware of fake-news websites that have published the article "I Killed Bob Marley - CIA Agent Confesses On Deathbed." The article (see below) is a fake because the man in it which they claim is Bill Oxley, a 79-year-old retired officer of the CIA who allegedly killed Bob Marley, is actually a photo model who works for a Polish microstock photography company. Please remember that not everything that you read on the internet is true. That is why it is important to check with reputable or popular news websites first.
The Fake "I Killed Bob Marley - CIA Agent Confesses On Deathbed" Article
A 79-year-old retired officer of the CIA, Bill Oxley, has made a series of stunning confessions since he was admitted to the Mercy Hospital in Maine on Monday and told he has weeks to live. He claims he committed 17 assassinations for the American government between 1974 and 1985, including the music icon Bob Marley.
Mr. Oxley, who worked for the CIA for 29 years as an operative with top-level security clearances, claims he was often used as a hitman by the organization, to assassinate individuals who could represent a threat to the goals of the agency.
Trained as a sniper and marksman, Mr. Oxley also has significant experience with more unconventional methods of inflicting harm upon others, like poisons, explosives, induced heart attacks and cancer.
The 79-year-old operative claims he committed the assassinations between March 1974 and August 1985, at a time when he says the CIA “was a law unto itself.” He says he was part of an operative cell of three members which carried out political assassinations across the country and occasionally in foreign countries.
The man in the article's photo is a Polish citizen who’s a stock photo model, not Mr. Oxley who they claim killed Bob Marley. The same photo was taken by Kataryzna Bialasiewicz. More photos from this same shoot are available here. The model also does other stock photo work for a Polish microstock photography company.
Here are some more photos of the stock photo model:
A few of the fake-news websites that published the fake article also published the following articles which we know are not true:
- "Beyoncé Caught Shapeshifting In Front Of Celebs At Serena Williams’ Wedding"
- "Jay-Z Caught Shapeshifting On United Airlines Flight To LAX"
- "NASA Confirms Earth Has a Second Moon"
- "Gasless Cows Could Help Cool The Atmosphere: UN Report"
- "Facebook Shuts Down Robots Who Invent Their Own Language"
The reggae icon passed away in 1981 – here are all the details of his death.
In 1976 Bob Marley survived an assassination attempt by three gunmen at his home in Hope Road in Jamaica; just five years later he was taken down by a malignant melanoma originating in his toe. As with many music star deaths, Marley’s passing has been shrouded in mystery, unanswered questions, and conspiracy theories, but what actually happened?
Where and when did Bob Marley die?
Marley died at the Cedars Of Lebanon Hospital in Miami on May 11, 1981.
What was the cause of Marley’s death?
Marley died from an acral lentiginous melanoma, a form of skin cancer which had been diagnosed in 1977, spreading from under a nail of his toe.
How had his disease spread?
Bob first discovered the melanoma during a game of football in 1977, when a foot injury seemed unusually bad, and worsened over time. When doctors discovered the cancer, he was advised to have his toe amputated, but refused as his Rastafarian faith considers it a sin to have a part of the body ‘temple’ removed. He did consent to a skin graft but this didn’t stop the disease spreading throughout his body by the summer of 1980.
Having collapsed while jogging in Central Park during his final tour, Marley played his last ever gig in Pittsburgh in September 1980 before cancelling all remaining live dates and flying to Germany for a controversial diet-based treatment under Josef Issels. After eight months the treatment proved unsuccessful, and Marley boarded a plane home to Jamaica. On the flight his condition worsened and he was rushed to hospital on arrival in Miami, where he died on May 11, 1981.
Are there any conspiracy theories surrounding Bob Marley’s death?
The most prevalent theory is that, due to his growing political stature in Jamaica, Marley was murdered by the CIA. It’s suggested that they were behind the attempted assassination at Hope Road and, having failed to kill him, went about more surreptitious means to see him off. It’s said that Carl Colby, the son of late CIA director William Colby, later gave Marley a pair of boots and, when Bob tried them on, a radioactive copper wire inside pricked his toe, causing the cancer. There are also stories that Issels was an ex-SS officer working with the CIA to poison Marley.
Online Threat Alerts Security Tips
Pay the safest way
Credit cards are the safest way to pay for online purchases because you can dispute the charges if you never get the goods or services or if the offer was misrepresented. Federal law limits your liability to $50 if someone makes unauthorized charges to your account, and most credit card issuers will remove them completely if you report the problem promptly.
Guard your personal information
In any transaction you conduct, make sure to check with your state or local consumer protection agency and the Better Business Bureau (BBB) to see if the seller, charity, company, or organization is credible. Be especially wary if the entity is unfamiliar to you. Always call the number found on a website’s contact information to make sure the number legitimately belongs to the entity you are dealing with.
Be careful of the information you share
Never give out your codes, passwords or personal information, unless you are sure of who you're dealing with
Know who you’re dealing with
Crooks pretending to be from companies you do business with may call or send an email, claiming they need to verify your personal information. Don’t provide your credit card or bank account number unless you are actually paying for something and know who you are sending payment to. Your social security number should not be necessary unless you are applying for credit. Be especially suspicious if someone claiming to be from a company with whom you have an account asks for information that the business already has.
Check your accounts
Regularly check your account transactions and report any suspicious or unauthorised transactions.
Don’t believe promises of easy money
If someone claims that you can earn money with little or no work, get a loan or credit card even if you have bad credit, or make money on an investment with little or no risk, it’s probably a scam. Oftentimes, offers that seem too good to be true, actually are too good to be true.
Do not open email from people you don’t know
If you are unsure whether an email you received is legitimate, try contacting the sender directly via other means. Do not click on any links in an email unless you are sure it is safe.
Think before you click
If an email or text message looks suspicious, don’t open any attachments or click on the links.
Verify urgent requests or unsolicited emails, messages or phone calls before you respond
If you receive a message or a phone call asking for immediate action and don't know the sender, it could be a phishing message.
Be careful with links and new website addresses
Malicious website addresses may appear almost identical to legitimate sites. Scammers often use a slight variation in spelling or logo to lure you. Malicious links can also come from friends whose email has unknowingly been compromised, so be careful.
Secure your personal information
Before providing any personal information, such as your date of birth, Social Security number, account numbers, and passwords, be sure the website is secure.
Stay informed on the latest cyber threats
Keep yourself up to date on current scams by visiting this website daily.
Use Strong Passwords
Strong passwords are critical to online security.
Keep your software up to date and maintain preventative software programs
Keep all of your software applications up to date on your computers and mobile devices. Install software that provides antivirus, firewall, and email filter services.
Update the operating systems on your electronic devices
Make sure your operating systems (OSs) and applications are up to date on all of your electronic devices. Older and unpatched versions of OSs and software are the target of many hacks. Read the CISA security tip on Understanding Patches and Software Updates for more information.
What if You Got Scammed?
Stop Contact With The Scammer
Hang up the phone. Do not reply to emails, messages, or letters that the scammer sends. Do not make any more payments to the scammer. Beware of additional scammers who may contact you claiming they can help you get your lost money back.
Secure Your Finances
- Report potentially compromised bank account, credit or debit card information to your financial institution(s) immediately. They may be able to cancel or reverse fraudulent transactions.
- Notify the three major credit bureaus. They can add a fraud alert to warn potential credit grantors that you may be a victim of identity theft. You may also want to consider placing a free security freeze on your credit report. Doing so prevents lenders and others from accessing your credit report entirely, which will prevent them from extending credit:
- Equifax
- Experian
- TransUnion
Check Your Computer
If your computer was accessed or otherwise affected by a scam, check to make sure that your anti-virus is up-to-date and running and that your system is free of malware and keylogging software. You may also need to seek the help of a computer repair company. Consider utilizing the Better Business Bureau’s website to find a reputable company.
Change Your Account Passwords
Update your bank, credit card, social media, and email account passwords to try to limit further unauthorized access. Make sure to choose strong passwords when changing account passwords.
Report The Scam
Reporting helps protect others. While agencies can’t always track down perpetrators of crimes against scammers, they can utilize the information gathered to record patterns of abuse which may lead to action being taken against a company or industry.
Report your issue to the following agencies based on the nature of the scam:
- Local Law Enforcement: Consumers are encouraged to report scams to their local police department or sheriff’s office, especially if you lost money or property or had your identity compromised.
- Federal Trade Commission: Contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357) or use the Online Complaint Assistant to report various types of fraud, including counterfeit checks, lottery or sweepstakes scams, and more.
- Identitytheft.gov: If someone is using your personal information, like your Social Security, credit card, or bank account number, to open new accounts, make purchases, or get a tax refund, report it at www.identitytheft.gov. This federal government site will also help you create your Identity Theft Report and a personal recovery plan based on your situation. Questions can be directed to 877-ID THEFT.
How To Recognize a Phishing Scam
Scammers use email or text messages to try to steal your passwords, account numbers, or Social Security numbers. If they get that information, they could get access to your email, bank, or other accounts. Or they could sell your information to other scammers. Scammers launch thousands of phishing attacks like these every day — and they’re often successful.
Scammers often update their tactics to keep up with the latest news or trends, but here are some common tactics used in phishing emails or text messages:
Phishing emails and text messages often tell a story to trick you into clicking on a link or opening an attachment. You might get an unexpected email or text message that looks like it’s from a company you know or trust, like a bank or a credit card or utility company. Or maybe it’s from an online payment website or app. The message could be from a scammer, who might
- say they’ve noticed some suspicious activity or log-in attempts — they haven’t
- claim there’s a problem with your account or your payment information — there isn’t
- say you need to confirm some personal or financial information — you don’t
- include an invoice you don’t recognize — it’s fake
- want you to click on a link to make a payment — but the link has malware
- say you’re eligible to register for a government refund — it’s a scam
- offer a coupon for free stuff — it’s not real
About Online Threat Alerts (OTA)
Online Threat Alerts or OTA is an anti-cybercrime community that started in 2012. OTA alerts the public to cyber crimes and other web threats.
By alerting the public, we have prevented a lot of online users from getting scammed or becoming victims of cybercrimes.
With the ever-increasing number of people going online, it important to have a community like OTA that continuously alerts or protects those same people from cyber-criminals, scammers and hackers, who are every day finding new ways of carrying out their malicious activities.
Online users can help by reporting suspicious or malicious messages or websites to OTA. And, if they want to determine if a message or website is a threat or scam, they can use OTA's search engine to search for the website or parts of the message for information.
Help maintain Online Threat Alerts (OTA).