Want to win a bright pink Jeep Wrangler? Or a Samsung Smart TV? Or an Alterra 500 Arctic Cat, perhaps? According to a Facebook Page that calls itself “Freebie Trends”, you can get a chance to win these and many other expensive prizes just by liking, sharing, commenting, and clicking a link to “validate your entry”.
But, alas, the Facebook Page is yet another scam designed to trick you into submitting your personal information on decidedly dodgy websites.
By tricking people into liking, sharing, and commenting on their fake giveaway posts, the scammers ensure that their fraudulent material is seen by an ever increasing number of potential victims.
When users click the “validate” link, they are taken to a web page that features a list of further prizes. Users are told that they are the “Winners of the Day” and are prompted to click a link to claim the supposed prize. However, the links open various third-party websites that offer the chance to win yet more prizes in exchange for supplying your name and contact details.
The sites will share your information with site sponsors and third-party marketing companies. So, soon after participating, you will begin receiving annoying and unwanted phone calls, text messages, emails, and letters peddling all manner of products and services.
But, no matter how many links you click or offers you participate in, you will never get to validate your Freebie Trends prize entry. There are no prizes and nobody wins except the scammers.
The scammers earn money whenever people disclose their personal details on one of the sites.
Scam Facebook Pages like this are extremely common. New ones appear every day.
This video from the Hoax-Slayer YouTube channel discusses a survey scam that promises participants the chance to win a Range Rover.
A screenshot of the Freebie Trends scam Facebook Page
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
