Raise your hand if you've ever received an email with the subject line, "Bill Gates Wants to Share His Fortune With You!!"
The offer, dating back to the origins of email, promised massive riches if you "helped out" by testing the email system. Usually, you were only eligible for the offer if you spammed a few dozen friends with a forward of the original scam. And if you're like me, you often received the forward from a well-meaning friend, with a short note attached. "I don't believe this is real, but just in case, I'm forwarding it to you."
Thanks, friend.
[CALLOUT]
While the lure of free money from Microsoft may finally have been put to rest, digital scams for freebies aren't going anywhere for the foreseeable future. These days, it's the lure of free travel that runs rampant, turning otherwise reasonable internet citizens into crazy spammers, again, "just in case."
Hoax-Slayer, a website which "debunks email and social media hoaxes" and "educates web users about email, social media, and Internet security issues" has chronicled a great number of these types of hoaxes from companies pretending to be major airlines such as American Airlines, British Airways and Southwest Airlines.
Of course, warns Hoax-Slayer, you must first like the post and share it before you are eligible to win. Sometimes you are even required to comment on the post. In this way, the fraudulent page quickly gathers a huge following, which it will then sell to other scammers so they can perpetrate their own schemes.
Or in other cases, the fraudulent site asks you to complete a survey, asking for personal details before you can be entered to win.
This information will be shared with marketing firms who then take their dubious offers out of cyberspace and into real time, including telemarketing calls and mailings.
Some Facebook users have also reported that after completing the survey, their Facebook passwords were hacked.
The problem has become so rampant, many major airlines have had to release official statements warning users that the scam is not endorsed in any way by the airline. In the past two weeks alone, such statements have appeared from many of Asia's top carriers, including Air Asia, Emirates, Philippines Airlines (PAL) and Singapore Airlines.
As other social media channels grow in popularity, they too are being affected by similar scams. In the U.K., The Express has warned that users of WhatsApp have also been lured to surveys with promises of free Emirates tickets.
What's the best way to protect yourselves from these scams?
Hoax-Slayer recommends checking the Facebook page offering the contest to see if they have a gray or blue "verified" checkmark (badge) beside their page name.
According to Facebook, a blue badge means Facebook has confirmed: "this is the authentic Page or profile for this public figure, media company or brand." A gray badge means "Facebook confirmed that this is an authentic Page for this business or organization."
[READMORE]READ MORE: How to Avoid Travel Ticket Scams [/READMORE]
Of course, checking with a site like Hoax-Slayer or Snopes before clicking is always a good idea before sharing any offer or story that sounds too good (or crazy) to be real.
The best bet, says Hoax-Slayer is to just not participate.
". . . by participating, these users are not only aiding and abetting scammers but exposing their Facebook friends to the scam as well," said the site. "They are also putting their privacy and security at risk by sharing their personal details on scam websites."
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