You see it all the time on Facebook: “Our previous winner of this car/boat/RV didn’t claim their prize, so now is your chance to win!“. As you may have guessed, there is no “previous winner” or even a prize — it’s all just a hoax. But why?
“Like” Farming
The scammers are building what’s known as a “like farm”. They’re trying to get as many people as possible to like their page and spread the message so it becomes popular on Facebook, and then switch it out for a scammy ad of some kind. In the grand scheme of hacks and scams, this one isn’t too bad, but it’s certainly not something you should support.
How can you tell if it’s a scam or not?
There are certainly some legit viral pieces on Facebook that feel similar to these scams, so how can you tell them apart?
The easiest way is to just click through and look at their page. Most of these scam pages were set up very recently, and have perhaps one or two posts. If it was really a big name company giving something away, they wouldn’t have a suspicious-looking page to promote it.
Other types of like farms
While the “fake giveaway” is a prevalent scam lately, there are more subtle ones as well.
- I’ll bet that this child can’t get a million likes!
- 90% of people fail this test (yet the test is remarkably simple)
- Combine your street name with your middle name to find out your name in the old west.
- “I bet you won’t re-post!”
- “Reposting… this has already been deleted 3 times”
- “Share if you will…” do something popular
These people will do anything they can to get people to share and like their content, as they can make pretty good money from you (a few dollars per 1,000 likes, typically).
What should you do about it?
First, report the page to Facebook so they can remove it. The more people that report it, the more quickly it will get taken care of.
Click through to the page (visiting the page by itself isn’t a concern), then choose “find support or report page” and let Facebook know it’s a scam.
Also, send your friend a link to this post so they can understand what it’s all about.
Examples of this scam
Here are some examples:
We are sad to announce that the winner of the big anniversary competition (Charlotte M. – Toronto) was from Canada and not a United States citizen as was stated necessary. Therefore, we will be giving out the stunning 2020 Newmar King Aire to someone who shares and comments by 8pm on Sunday.
Like our page for updates. Good luck!
With a lot of people out of work and Covid-19 keeping them out of work we know money is tighter more now than ever! So by 10:00pm Saturday someone who shares and also comments will be the new owner of this 2020 Jayco Seneca 37L Bunkhouse Super C Motorhome RV, paid off and ready to drive away, keys in hand! – After visit xxx to validate your entry.
With a lot of people out of work and Covid-19 keeping them out of work we know money is tighter more now than ever! So by 10:00pm Saturday someone who shares and also comments will be the new owner of this 2020 Jayco Seneca 37L Bunkhouse Super C Motorhome RV, paid off and ready to drive away, keys in hand! – After visit xxx to validate your entry.
We have got 150(Major RV ) that can’t be sold because they have been unsealed.Therefore we are giving them away for free. Want one of them ? Just Share this photo& Like Ourpage and we will choose 150 people completely at random on July 30! as you Luck day Comment Done
With so many people out work due to Covid-19 and it’s still keeping them out of work we know that money is much tighter than ever! So by 11:59pm Tonight someone who shares than leaves a comment will be the official brand new owner of this Ford, Paid Off and ready to be driven away, Keys in hand! Ford.
We are sad to announce that the winner of this amazing Tiny House [ Ashley Jamette Arthur ] was under the age of 17 as was stated necessary.Therefore, We will be giving out this Beautiful Modern Luxury Outdoors Tiny House to someone who shares and comments by 8 PM Today – After visit xxx to validate your entry.
We are currently operating all our flights 24/7 and we know due to Covid-19 money is tighter more than ever! So we have decided to show our continued appreciation support to our loyal customers by awarding 500 people who shares and comments by 4 PM Tuesday with a free round trip flight of their desired destination. Good Luck everyone
To celebrate our grand opening we are doing something very special for one of you! We will be rewarding someone who has Shared and Commented by July 24th with a 14 night vacation for 2 people in this 5 star over water suite. No need to worry about flights & other travel its all included!
We’re going to celebrate our grand opening by doing something special for you. We will be rewarding someone who has shared then commented by August 1st with a 7 night stay for 2 people in this 5 star suite with private pool. Don’t worry about flights and transfers, it’s all included.
We thought we needed to show our support during these difficult times – So we decided that someone who shares and also comments before 10 PM Monday will get this beautiful Toyota Tundra 2020
We’re sorry to inform everyone that Jenny Blatnik Lefever from Greeneville Tennessee was not eligible due to being under the age of 15. So to show our continued support during these rough times we decided to give it to someone else who shares and also comments by 4 PM Tuesday – Participants Must Like Our Page – Best Of Luck Everyone
Hello everyone, my name is Travis Porter and I am the Regional Manager of Chick-fil-A! I have an announcement to make – To celebrate our 61st Anniversary, We are giving EVERYONE who shaᴦes & then comments by 4pm SUNDAY one of these gift-baskets containing a $35 Chick-fil-A gift-card plus surprises that will make your heart flutter – After visit xxx to validate your entry.
Hello everyone I’m Todd Burrowes Gorham. I am very happy to announce I’m the new CEO of longhorn steakhouse. I’d like to start my new job off with a good deed for everyone as I know recent times have been tough which is why I’m going to be rewarding everyone who shares&comments in the next 72 hours with a voucher to get meal for two at any longhorn steakhouse for lunch or dinner.
Hello everyone I’m Chris Geng, the new manager of Grand Wailea resort in Maui. I want to start my job off with a good deed so as I know recent times have been tough so to celebrate our first summer back with no restrictions after nearly 3 years of closures I’ll be sending someone who shares&likes then types ‘Done’ by July 25th a 10 night holiday for 8 at a Grand Wailea of their choice
⭕Like our page Grand Wailea Maui Resort for winners updates!
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