This post may contain affiliate links. If a product or service is purchased using a link(s) in the post below a small commission may be earned.
As we all know scams are everywhere but lately it seems social media has seen an up tick in them. I’ve shared about this topic in the past and I have a feeling it will on going.
I’ve come across a few fake accounts and know they are fakes. But when some people take it upon themselves to con others into believing they are a well known brand or website that’s just not right.
But what gets me is that people truly fall for these types of scams. It doesn’t matter if it’s a free phone giveaway or a fake celebrity account claiming you can win millions of dollars just for typing a word and sharing the post to 5 or 10 Facebook pages or groups.
Brand pages don’t send friend requests
I had a Facebook page posing as a popular freebie site brand page send me a friend request. When I saw this i knew it was a scam. Most popular pages or brand pages don’t send out friend requests. When i checked I saw that the person had done their homework. They had used the site’s logo and their header image. They even copied a video and added it to their page.
The site that was being impersonated is Sampler. When i viewed the page i knew it was a fake or scam page because the page URL was someone’s name. It also claimed the page was a FACEBOOK VIP and Sampler’s official giveaway page.
None of this was true. Yes some brands may have private Facebook groups but this isn’t the case with Sampler.
commonly used tactics
Some of the most commonly used tactics for fake or scam pages are that they use the brands content. This page as I mentioned used Sampler’s logo and part of their header image. They also had a video post shared about an activity they have most months.
Basically this fake page claimed that I’d been sent a friend request because i was the winner of said promotion. Yet there is always a catch.
when i read the caption under the stolen video from Sampler it stated the following:
(caption source fake Sampler Facebook page)
CONGRATULATIONS !!!
For all the lucky ones today.
We will randomly select people to receive gifts.Congratulations to the chosen ones, and I just added as a friend.Claim here for the winner >>Â https://bit.ly/2RU0bhUÂ <<
Like this post, share and COMMENT (DONE)
send proof of registrant in the form (screenshot)Wait to receive a gift from me.
And prizes will be sent after you have successfully registered the data correctly.Don’t miss this opportunity, complete your registration and get the prize.
thanks.
The red flags
If a brand page sends you a friend request and you see something similar to the caption above you know it’s a scam or fake page. No brand Facebook page will send you a friend request let alone request you sign up for an unknown website. I found the link sends you to some sort of video website. Of course you have to create an account and add a payment method. I didn’t do anything I just noted it was a movie site.
Never click on these links. I had been familiar with this practice because i had been sent a similar link via Instagram a while back.
Another red flag is that most brands that have promotions like Sampler does they share them via all platforms if they have various social accounts. You can also tell from the caption that the post was written by a person who gives the impression they will be sending you the prize.
Another thing i just noticed is that they state you need to comment the word done but the comments have been turned off for the post so that’s also a give away that’s it a scam. The caption itself has a lot of tell tale signs it’s a scam too.
what you can do
You can decline the friend request and report the page. I would also suggest you report the page to the brand as well. You can also block the page from sending further requests as well. You can do this when you decline the friend request.
I did all of the steps listed above. Facebook may take time to reply back. Sampler was thankful I alerted them to the issue and asked that i report the page.
Hopefully this post will be helpful to alert you about fake or scam pages on Facebook.
Share your thoughts in the comments below.
