Here's how you can tell that a promotion is actually fake

Nov 22, 2012 20:51 GMT  ·  By

Hoax Slayer warns that there are a number of Facebook scams that promise all sorts of prizes in return for Shares and Likes.

Here are just some examples of posts used by fraudsters to advertise their Facebook pages and, in some cases, even utilized to trick unsuspecting customers into handing over personal information:

“FIRST 300 SHARE WILL GET THE SAMSUNG GALAXY-When It's done send me all your informations inbox.”

“FIRST 300 SHARE WILL GET THE IPHONE 5-When It's done send me all your informations inbox.”

“THIS IS NOT A JOKE! I'M GIVING AWAY THOSE I-PADS I-POD IPHONES APPLES, FOR THE LUCKY 50 PEOPLE THAT ‘SHARE’ THIS STATUS, COMMENT ‘DONE’, AFTER YOU LIKED IT. GOOD LUCK I'LL PICK THE LUCKY 05 WINNERS.”

In order to avoid falling victim to such scams, Facebook members are advised to be on the lookout for certain signs that reveal a scheme’s true purpose.

For instance, fake promotions are very vague when it comes to providing information about who is running the campaign, its duration, and other details normally provided by legitimate companies.

Furthermore, bogus promotions also offer prizes or amounts of money that wouldn’t normally be afforded by any company for marketing purposes.

For example, one of the posts mentioned above promises 300 smartphones for the first 300 users that share it. Why would a company hand out 300 expensive devices for only 300 Shares or Likes.

Finally, as Hoax Slayer’s Brett Christensen highlights, these scammy contests are poorly worded and they’re usually written in uppercase letters. A legitimate company would never organize any promotion in such haste.

So, remember, next time you come across a post that promises fabulous prizes for a simple Like, be sure to ignore it or report it as spam.