According to this Facebook Post, US department store chain Kohl’s is giving everyone who shares a link a $100 coupon to celebrate its anniversary.
The post, which features an image depicting the supposed free coupon, urges you to click to get this “birthday offer”.
However, the post is fake. It has no connection to Kohl’s and no coupons are being given away.
If you click on the post, you will be taken to a scam website that asks you to answer a few questions about Kohl’s. The site will then pretend to verify your answers and inform you that you have “qualified” for the prize. But, in fact, all visitors are told that they have won the coupon no matter what answers they give.
Next, you will be instructed to share the site and add the comment “Thank-you”. By doing so, you are helping the scammers to promote the fake giveaway across Facebook.
After sharing and commenting, you are told to click the “receive the voucher” button.
Instead of being able to claim your coupon, you will be taken to a dodgy website that asks you to supply your name and contact details, ostensibly to get a chance to win further prizes. But, the personal information you provide will be shared with various marketing companies who will subsequently bombard you with unwanted promotional phone calls, text messages, and emails.
And, you will still not get to claim your free coupon.
Scams like this one are very common on Facebook. The “anniversary giveaway” claim is a favourite scammer trick.
If you see one of these bogus giveaway posts, don’t be tempted to participate. You have no chance of winning the promised prize. And you may risk your privacy and security by sharing your personal information with online scammers.
A screenshot of the scam post:
Screenshots of the scam website:
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
