According to various posts that are being shared on Facebook, you can click to get a free basket of Cadbury chocolate.
One current version claims that Cadbury is giving away 1300 free chocolate baskets to celebrate Halloween. Other versions may claim to be associated with different holidays, or supposed company anniversaries or milestones.
The posts feature the Cadbury logo or other Cadbury branding.
However, the posts have no connection to Cadbury and nobody who clicks on them will ever get one of the promised chocolate baskets. The posts are scams designed to trick people into visiting malicious websites.
A screenshot of the scam post:
If you click on one of the posts in the hope of claiming your free chocolate basket, you will instead be redirected to one of several scam websites.
Some of the sites are tech support scams that falsely claim that your computer has been infected with viruses and needs to be repaired urgently. The sites prompt you to call a tech support number to get help to remove the – non-existent – viruses.
If you do call, the fake tech support workers will trick you into divulging your credit card number and other personal information, which they will subsequently use to commit credit card fraud and identity theft. Some variants try to trick you into downloading and installing malware disguised as a virus scanner or computer repair tool.
Other scam sites try to trick you into signing up for a video streaming service that promises free access to your favourite movies. However, to get “free” access, you are required to enter a valid credit card, ostensibly to validate your location and identity. Many people who have signed up on these sites report that their credit cards have been unexpectedly charged for “upgrades” or “premium memberships”.
Any company that allows their services to be promoted via fake Facebook giveaway posts or other fraudulent messages should never be trusted with your personal and financial information.
Giveaway scams like this continue to be very common on Facebook. Cadbury’s name and logo have been fraudulently used multiple times in such scams in recent years.
Alternative versions of the scam promise free gifts, vouchers, holidays, cars, and even houses in exchange for liking and sharing or clicking a link.
How to Recognize Facebook Prize and Giveaway Scams
Importance Notice
After considerable thought and with an ache in my heart, I have decided that the time has come to close down the Hoax-Slayer website.These days, the site does not generate enough revenue to cover expenses, and I do not have the financial resources to sustain it going forward.
Moreover, I now work long hours in a full-time and physically taxing job, so maintaining and managing the website and publishing new material has become difficult for me.
And finally, after 18 years of writing about scams and hoaxes, I feel that it is time for me to take my fingers off the keyboard and focus on other projects and pastimes.
When I first started Hoax-Slayer, I never dreamed that I would still be working on the project all these years later or that it would become such an important part of my life. It's been a fantastic and engaging experience and one that I will always treasure.
I hope that my work over the years has helped to make the Internet a little safer and thwarted the activities of at least a few scammers and malicious pranksters.
A Big Thank You
I would also like to thank all of those wonderful people who have supported the project by sharing information from the site, contributing examples of scams and hoaxes, offering suggestions, donating funds, or helping behind the scenes.I would especially like to thank David White for his tireless contribution to the Hoax-Slayer Facebook Page over many years. David's support has been invaluable, and I can not thank him enough.
Closing Date
Hoax-Slayer will still be around for a few weeks while I wind things down. The site will go offline on May 31, 2021. While I will not be publishing any new posts, you can still access existing material on the site until the date of closure.Thank you, one and all!
Brett Christensen,
Hoax-Slayer
