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There’s a scam spreading on Facebook that’s too good to be true. Literally. Avoid clicking on anything that promises you free gift cards to either Starbucks or Tim Horton’s restaurants. It’s been confirmed by both Starbucks and Facebook so avoid it.
This isn’t the first time (or likely the last) a scam has quickly spread across Facebook. I first noticed the Starbucks scam when a friend of mine mentioned the giveaway but also said “I hope this isn’t a scam” so it triggered a few alarm bells in my head.
Upon further research, the owner of the site has hidden their identity, used concealed WHOIS information, and other means to basically avoid being found out. Long story short, it’s a scam and someone just wanted a bunch of Facebook Likes for some reason. ZDNet has a bit more on how and why this scam is happening:
How It Works
This version says something along the lines of “FREE Starbucks $50 Gift Card” or “FREE $25 Tim Hortons Gift Card” followed by a link to a fraudulent website. It also has one of the following descriptions: “To celebrate our 40th Anniversary, we are giving away thousands of $50 Gift Vouchers FREE” or “To celebrate our birthday, we are giving away thousands of $25 Gift Vouchers FREE.”
Similar to previous Facebook scams, you need to share the link with your Facebook friends before proceeding. The webpage in question tells you this is necessary to get the free voucher.
The scammers’ goal is to drive more traffic towards certain sites. This is how the scammer earns his or her money: a commission for every survey completed, every product purchased, and/or every account compromised. They also use them to spread malware and obtain personal information.
As I’ve recommended before, if you see a scam like this one, report it. Then go check your own Wall to make sure you’re not spreading the scam; the sooner you clean it up and unlike the page, the better. You can even contact Facebook Security if you’d like to.