If you’ve been on Facebook for any length of time, you may well have come across a post that claims that you can win a tiny house just by liking, sharing, and commenting.
The posts feature images of the tiny house supposedly being given away along with instructions for participating.
Here’s a screenshot of a typical tiny house giveaway post
Tiny or not, these little dwellings are still worth sizable chunks of cash and no company is going to randomly give them away in exchange for a few Facebook likes and shares.
The scammers capitalize on the increasing popularity of the tiny house movement. The photographs used in the scam posts are stolen from tiny-house enthusiast websites or from promotional material published by tiny house manufacturers.
As with other like-farming scams, the fake tiny house giveaways are designed to promote a particular Facebook Page to a wider audience and gather many new Page Likes.
Sometimes, after the bogus Facebook page has significantly increased its potential reach by tricking people into liking, sharing, and commenting, the scammers will use the now popular Page to launch survey scams or other types of fraudulent activity.
Alternatively, after using a fake giveaway to increase likes, the scammers may sell the Facebook Page to other scammers
Some versions instruct victims to click a link to register or complete surveys as part of their entry. But, they will be asked to submit their name and contact information as part of the process and this information will be shared with third-party marketers. So, people who participate will soon be inundated with unwanted phone calls, text messages, emails, and letters promoting a range of dubious products and services.
Facebook scammers continually create posts and Pages that promise that you can win not only tiny houses, but all kinds of valuable prizes including store vouchers, holidays, airline tickets, luxury RVs, high-end vehicles, computers, smartphones, shopping sprees, and many other things.
Of course, there are legitimate giveaways on Facebook as well. Many businesses run promotions or competitions that allow people to win various prizes. But, they are very unlikely to give away expensive items such as cars, houses, or holidays just for likes and shares.
This related Hoax-Slayer report provides more information about how to tell the difference between genuine and fake giveaways on Facebook.
How to Recognize Facebook Prize and Giveaway Scams
Another example of a tiny-house giveaway post
