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.
