Yet another coronavirus themed giveaway scam is currently hitting Facebook.
This version claims that KFC is giving everyone two chicken buckets to help people deal with lockdown and celebrate the company’s anniversary.
Supposedly, all you need to do to get your free chicken is share the post and add the comment “Thanks”. The post claims that the Facebook Page will inbox you a coupon after it has verified your share and comment.
But, in fact, the post has no connection to KFC and no amount of sharing and commenting will get you a free chicken bucket coupon.
The post is a typical giveaway scam designed to promote a fake Facebook Page and gather likes and shares. By tricking people into liking and sharing via a fake giveaway, scammers can significantly increase their profile on the network. They can then use the bogus Page to launch further scams, this time to a much larger pool of potential victims.
At any one time, there are likely to be hundreds of such giveaway scams circulating on Facebook. Many of the scams claim that the giveaway is a means of celebrating the targetted company’s anniversary.
And, right now, many are attempting to capitalize on news of the coronavirus pandemic.
If one of these fake giveaways hits your News Feed, don’t be tempted to participate. Doing so just helps the scammers. And, rest assured, you certainly won’t get the promised giveaway.
A screenshot of the scam post:
Transcript of the scam post:
As you’re all aware Everything is closed Due to Lockdown But its our 68th Anniversary And We Are Helping Everyone By Giving Each Person Two Chicken Buckets FREE! To Get Yours Simply Share This Post And Comment Thanks! We Will Inbox Your Coupon After Verifying Your Share & Comment!
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
