14 DAY TRIAL // Facebook posts and Facebook pages that promise a free iPhone 5c or a free iPhone 5S should be treated with maximum suspicion. Now that Apple has officially launched the products, the Internet has become flooded with scams that leverage the event.
We’ve seen several iPhone 5S and iPhone 5c scams that are making the rounds via email, but experts have also spotted Facebook schemes.
For instance, a group of Facebook scammers is claiming to offer a free iPhone 5c to anyone willing to share and like a photo.
“Celebrating the launch of our new iPhone 5c we're giving away 75 of them to some lucky people. To be in within a chance of winning just Share & Like this photo. 75 Random shares will be chosen where each person will receive a message through Facebook to notify that they have one.. Good luck!” the scam post spotted by Hoax Slayer reads.
Of course, no one wins the device, no matter what they do. Instead, the scammers use this trick to harvest a large number of likes for their bogus pages.
Later, they can sell these pages to other scammers, or simply use them to advertise shady products and services.
By that time, a large number of users have liked the page, so potential victims will be more inclined to think that whatever the crooks are advertising is genuine.
Hoax Slayer notes that the picture of the iPhone 5c devices has been taken by the scammers from a legitimate article. It’s said to be a leaked image that shows the iPhone 5c packaging.
In case you come across such posts, treat them with maximum suspicion. If something sounds too good to be true, it usually is.
If you’ve already liked such a Facebook page, unlike it and remove the post you’ve shared for crooks.