A post claiming to be from supermarket ASDA claims to be celebrating 70 years of service by awarding fans with a gift box containing a £1,000 voucher and other “goodies”.
An example of the post can be seen below –
To cеlеbᴦatе 70 yеaᴦs of quality sеᴦvicе wе will bе awaᴦding 20 lucky fans with a suᴦpᴦisе gift box containing a 1,000 vouchеᴦ, a T-shiᴦt and somе еxtᴦa goodiеs! Simply shaᴦе and commеnt ‘Donе’ foᴦ youᴦ chancе!
However the post is another fake competition scam on Facebook that is designed to lure unguarded Facebook users to dubious third party websites. In this case, the post has a comment with a link urging Facebook users to click the link to “validate their entry”.
Many scams of this ilk lead to spammy websites that want to spam you through your email, phone and postal address. However this scheme is attempting to direct visitors to a webpage claiming to offer “exclusive deals” from top brands but in reality is attempting to trick visitors into signing up for SMS “text” subscriptions on their mobile phones.
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In all tested cases, the post redirects UK users to VIPDiscounts.co.uk, a site registered in 2018 that in the small print claims by providing your phone number you will be sent “deals” via your phone at a cost of £1.50 per message. Essentially, visitors will be paying to be spammed.
This hasn’t got anything to do with ASDA, who aren’t giving away free boxes of goodies, and who are not even mentioned on the resulting website (meaning this can also be considered a bait-and-switch scam.)
The photo in the post is one prolifically used and digitally altered by these types of scammers, and in this case has had the ASDA logo “photoshopped” onto it. The photo actually shows Fred Felleman working with Friends of the Earth. The boxes represent petition signatures.
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We recommend avoiding these types of “too good to be true” posts and advise readers stick to reputable competitions run by the official “blue ticked” Facebook pages and the official websites belonging to the respective brands.
More information on avoiding fake competitions on Facebook can be seen here.
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