Posts are circulating Facebook that purport to be giving away unsealed PlayStation 4’s because they have been unsealed and thus unfit for sale.
The posts request users share the post and Like the page that created the post to enter the giveaway.
However this is a scam designed to lure people into liking a page in a fake giveaway like-farming scam. These scams are particularly prevalent on Facebook and increase in frequency as the holiday season approaches.
Posts with the following message are spreading across Facebook –
40 winners selected still 160 remaining SHARE! COMMENT(done) and you could be the next one.
These scams can be used to initiate any number of different scams. For example “winners” may be contacted for their personal information in what would be an identity theft scam. Users who like the page can be directed to external websites where survey schemes or malware infections can be the consequence.
The assertion that a product has been “unsealed” and is therefore being given away as a free prize is a popular modus operandi that scammers seem to enjoy using, likely because it provides a justification for the seemingly ‘too good to be true’ giveaway, despite not making much sense (unsealed products can still be sold by retailers.)
Always be very sceptical of posts offering to giveaway freebies on Facebook, as they are nearly always scams. Brands that perform offers or competitions on social media do so via their official pages and feeds. On Facebook official pages have a blue tick verification mark by the page title.
Read our article on Facebook giveaway scams here.