Several pages on Facebook (FB) are illicitly using the names and logos of popular supermarket chains and product dealers promising to give away home appliances. These are scams and the companies mentioned have disowned the posts.
Ahead of the holiday season, scores of FB pages posted all throughout the month of October photos of refrigerators and washing machines, and promised FB users of getting one if they register for the “giveaway”.
The scams bore similar scripts, only using different names of companies, numbers of appliances and dates. One post read:
“LIBRENG FRIDGE AT WASHING MACHINE. Ipinagmamalaki naming ianunsyo na mas maaga sa buwang ito, mamimigay ang @Gaisano Capital ng 185 libreng REFRIGERATOR AT WASHING MACHINE at cash. sa mga nagcomment ng ‘WIN’ SA Page na ito bago mag October 30. Good luck.”
(Free fridge and washing machine. We’re proud to announce as early as this month that we at @Gaisano Capital are giving away 185 free refrigerators, washing machines and cash. Comment “WIN” on this page before Oct. 30. Good luck.)
These spurious posts have used the names of the following establishments:
- Gaisano Capital
- NCCC Supermarket
- Super8 Grocery Warehouse
- Motortrade
- SM Megamall
- EMCOR
- DALI Everyday Grocery
All of the private companies involved have issued advisories warning the public from these fraudulent pages.
In an Aug. 6 FB post, the official page of Gaisano Capital warned their customers against a page impersonating them. “Attention! This isn’t the official Gaisano Capital Page. If you receive any messages from here, please disregard them,” it said.
Likewise, the verified page of Super8 Grocery Warehouse published an Oct. 28 post cautioning the public from the scams, and advised people to look for a blue checkmark to know if a page is official or not.
As early as last year, SM Megamall had been warning the public against accounts posing as the official page of the mall and to only visit their verified social media channels.
VERA Files Fact Check has debunked similar scams in a previous fact check which included advisories from NCCC Supermarket, Motortrade, DALI, and EMCOR.
Don’t immediately fall for posts you see on social media. Take note if you’re being asked to follow a page, like a post or share it, to join a raffle or giveaway. These are common tactics used by scammers in an attempt to rapidly gain followers and boost engagement.
At least seven impostor FB pages have been spreading the giveaway scams, collectively garnering 2,860 reactions, 10,670 comments and 18,390 shares.
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(Editor's Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)
