According to a post being shared across Facebook, you can comment and share for the chance to win a holiday for 4 people from holiday company Center Parcs.
The post purports to be from a person called “Mark Frendon” who claims to be the CEO of Center Parcs. It features images of “Mark” surrounded by golden envelopes that supposedly contain tickets for the holiday.
However, the post is a scam. It is not connected to Center Parcs and those who participate have no chance whatsoever of winning any holidays.
The CEO of Center Parcs UK is Martin Dalby not “Mark Frendon”. And, the golden envelopes featured in the scam post were actually used to hold the results of the Oscars for the 2016 Academy Awards show. The image was taken from a February 2016 Los Angeles Times report about the making of the Oscars envelopes. And, the same golden envelope image has been used in several other Facebook giveaway scams.
The scam post is designed to promote the fake Facebook Page to a much wider audience by tricking people into liking and sharing. The scammers have also included comments on the fake post that insist that people click a link to complete their prize entry.
Clicking the link takes people to suspect third party websites that offer the chance to win further prizes in exchange for submitting their name and contact details.
If you participate, the information you submit will be shared with dodgy marketing companies who will subsequently flood you with unwanted emails, text messages, and phone calls peddling a range of dubious products and services.
It appears that the scam Facebook Page that the fake prize post comes from has now been taken down. But, more versions may follow. If one of the posts comes your way, do not click on it.
An example of the scam:
Transcript:
Hello everyone, I’m Mark Frendon the CEO of Center Parcs. Today I have some fantastic news, 30 random people who’ve shared and commented by 11 pm tonight will each be receiving one of these envelopes containing a Center Parcs holiday for 4!
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
