Posts being shared on Facebook claim that you can click to get five free cartons of Marlboro brand cigarettes.
Supposedly, the company is giving away the cigarettes as a means of celebrating its 100th anniversary.
But, in fact, the posts are scams designed to trick you into divulging your personal information on suspect websites. No cigarettes are being given away.
There has been a series of very similar cigarette giveaway Facebook scams in recent years. The first example below is currently being distributed. The second example first launched back in July 2017. Around June 2016, another version of the scam was supposedly giving away ten cartons of Marlboro. And, there have been several other versions, including one that claimed to be giving away ten cartons of Winfield brand cigarettes.
Most versions have been distributed mainly via the Facebook News Feed. However, some versions are shared via Facebook Messenger as well.
For the record, the Marlboro brand is not 100 years old as claimed in the scam posts. Philip Morris launched the brand in 1924.
Read more about Facebook Giveaway Scams
Facebook Survey Scams
Facebook Like-Farming Scams
No Harm Done?’ Think Again! – 4 Reasons Why Participating In Bogus Facebook Giveaways is NOT Harmless
Beware of “Anniversary Giveaway” Facebook Voucher and Coupon Scams
Examples of the scam posts:
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
