Don’t Fall for “Farming” Type Social Media Scams
The Better Business Bureau warns people not to fall for social media scams offering prizes in exchange for participation, such as likes or comments. The tricky part is that some contests are legal, so you need to know how to spot fake ones.
How the scam works
You may see posts on social media such as Facebook or Instagram advertising free gifts, cash promises, gift cards, or other high value items such as mobile homes that can be “won” by liking or commenting on the post. Of course, there are no such prizes. So what’s the catch, especially if you just like or comment on a post? As Better Business Bureau reports:
As with many scams, this method, known as like-farming, serves several different purposes. Often, the distribution post itself is inherently harmless, although it is a fake. But when the scammer gets enough likes and shares, he will edit the post and add something harmful, such as a link to malware. In other cases, when scammers get the desired number of likes, they remove the original page content and use it to promote spam products or sell on the black market.
Scammers take advantage of the fact that giveaways can be legitimate promotions, although fake ones are easier to spot if you know what to look for.
How to recognize gift giving fraud
A second look at a social media post should provide some clues. Have you ever seen an account before? Does he have a long history of posting? In an amateurish way with a lot of spelling mistakes or blurry photos? Signs of a fake competition include:
This is from an unverified account
An account verified by a social media platform is unlikely to be a scam. Look for the official blue checkmarks for Twitter, Instagram or Facebook next to the account name. In addition, any company on Facebook will have a Page Transparency field in the left column, which will indicate the real person behind the account. However, not all legitimate accounts are verified, so you’ll also want to look for other signs of possible scams.
Account suspiciously new
If you don’t see a long history or messages for an account offering prizes, or it has a suspiciously low follower count (for Facebook, look at the total likes on the About Me page), then be careful. This is doubly true if the account allegedly belongs to a celebrity or famous brand. Scammers steal logos and photos to make an account page look legit, but remember that a big brand like Walmart needs to have millions of followers, not thousands.
There are no conditions
If there are only a few short sentences in the giveaw and no contact details or eligibility requirements, you should probably leave. While they are not always enforced, legal prize draws are required by law to include information on the odds of winning, an end date, age requirements to enter, and a language explaining that no purchase is required to enter.
In the draw it is proposed to tag people
Many online scams, especially pyramid schemes, rely on people tagging others as part of a competition to reach as many potential victims as possible. It works too well: When people are tagged by unsuspecting people they trust, such as family members or friends, they are more likely to continue to cheat. But many people are also annoyed at being tagged this way, and tag-based promotions are less likely to match the marketing values of most brands. If giving away prizes is a whole lot of extra work, think twice before getting involved.
If you spot a scam, please report it via BBB.org/Connect .