Scammers are always out to take advantage of you, but this time of the year they are especially seeking to target holiday shoppers.
One of the favorite tactics used by cybercriminals is the fake coupon offers that you see shared on Facebook time and time and time again.
These scam offers are for things like 75% off any purchase at a department store or $100 grocery voucher to every person that shares this post on Facebook. Kroger and Aldi are particularly favorite targets of these scams, but they’ll name about any store.
Another popular trick these crooks use is to say that there’s been a drawing in a contest and someone didn’t pick it up, so enter now for your chance to win. But you have to enter right this minute.
A lot of you might look at these scams and think there’s no harm in sharing them. But you’d be wrong. These scams often come with a link that says it has a survey you need to fill out. These links are often to sites that can download malware onto your phone and computer. The malware can do everything from spy on you to lock your device until you pay a ransom. If you’re wondering why your Facebook, Messenger, or bank account keeps getting hacked, participating in scams like this can be the reason.
Crooks will also sometimes use a fake giveaway to trick you into liking a page. Then they’ll change the name of the page to something else but still keep your like.
Real coupons always come with limitations and conditions. No company can afford to give anyone who shares a post a $100. That’s potentially hundreds of millions of people.
Clicking on these coupons exposes you to dangerous software and sharing them makes all of your Facebook friends’ potential targets as well. Think before you click.
