South Africa: Don’t Topple for Flawed Giveaways With Legit-Searching Comments, These Are Ways to Scam Social Media Customers

Don’t fall for faux giveaways with legit-looking feedback, these are tactics to scam social media customers

IN SHORT: Fb posts relate social media customers can earn devices by “simply” answering three questions. However it’s a scam: the proof is in unrelated links and suspicious feedback.

A Fb put up circulating in South Africa claims that a store is “giving away unwrapped phones” due to “the release of a new model”.

“Due to the release of a new model, the store is giving away unwrapped phones to every South African over the age of 30 Answer 3 questions to get the phone ⤵️,” it reads.

The put up doesn’t point out which “store” that is, however the cellphones in the image seem to be Apple-branded iPhones. One of the most necessary phones trust a sticker on them which reads “discount price R36” (about US$2).

There is a link attached to the put up, accessed thru an “order now” button.

Equally, one other Fb put up claims that Harvey Norman, an Australian retailer, is giving freely an “old Iphone 15 pro … left without a box due to logistical errors”.

The put up is said to the previous one, also asking customers to click on the “apply now” button.

In the beginning survey, the provides seem legit, and loads feedback on the posts seem to take a look at that they are reputable.

Nonetheless, Africa Verify dug a cramped deeper and noticed that a scam turned into once afoot.

Unrelated web sites without a form to have in

We started our investigation by clicking on the links in every Fb put up. That is the save things started to get a cramped uncommon.

The most necessary put up’s link took us to a piece of writing titled “6 Tips for Responding to Negative Reviews on Social Media” by a customer engagement alternate suggestions company called Spectrio.

The second put up’s link also took us to a piece of writing, this one titled “iPhone 16 Review: Unveiling Apple’s Latest Devices” by Gistly, a tool that uses the generative artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT to summarise YouTube videos.

Neither of the links took us to a website online the save a form is probably going to be stuffed in to respond “3 questions” to get an iPhone, and there turned into once nowhere to pay the “discounted price of R36”.

Linking to unrelated web sites is a tactic on the total regular by scammers to secure wider attain for their posts: the scammer doesn’t if truth be told supply the leisure and therefore has no website online but hopes their put up will be shared widely.

This tactic is also regular to trap customers to web sites that produce advertising and marketing earnings for their householders.

Suspicious feedback

Diverse feedback on both posts counsel that social media customers were receiving their “unwrapped” or “unboxed” iPhones.

However on closer inspection, it’s clear that these feedback are a technique of making the supply seem more legit and form fragment of the scam.

First, about a of the photographs regular in about a of the feedback were downloaded from the web and aren’t usual photography from those commenting.

For example, the image regular in the main commentary below could presumably additionally merely additionally be stumbled on here and here.

One of the most necessary feedback, care for the second above, invent seem to corroborate the relate that the phones arrive “unwrapped” or “unboxed”.

Nonetheless, quite lots of the commenters impart that their mobile phone came in the sphere, as if new. One commenter even posts an image of an iPhone in its field in front of a earn from South African telecommunications provider Telkom.

Both Fb posts also characteristic suspiciously the same feedback. For example, the main commentary below, from the main put up, is nearly identical to the second commentary below from the second put up.

That is a pink flag that the feedback are wrong and could presumably merely were written by the same person, despite appearing to be from two assorted Fb accounts.

User warned others of the same scam

When digging deeper into the relate, we stumbled on a repost of the main Fb put up, the save a consumer warns fellow followers that the giveaway is a scam:

“Don’t fall for that advert below. I once read comments, I believe by that time they were advertising Samsung S23 if I remember well, they said they are on sale because the boxes are trustworthy.”

“I didn’t waste time, I paid money and waited for delivery. After 3 days an sms comes in saying my parcel has been dropped off, I click on the link, only to find that they want more money.”

Any individual requesting extra cash than on the inspiration advertised or agreed on is a nice pink flag that a too-elegant-to-hump over supply is, genuinely, a scam.

Guidelines for preserving safe on social media

There are other very the same scams on Fb. Other posts doing the rounds in South Africa relate that “Amazon is throwing away old DeII Inspiron laptops that were left without a box due to logistical errors”.

These claims use the same tactics, similar to asking customers to respond “3 questions” thru a link, including an unrelated link, and having wrong feedback corroborate the faux provides.

So how invent you preserve safe on social media? We now trust some pointers to enable you to tell Fb scams:

• Sight for apparent errors: Depressed writing, spelling, and grammar are all signs of a scam. Also ogle out for sentences written in “ALL CAPS” or an abundance of exclamation marks.
• Be suspicious when it comes to cash: Scams that at once ask for cash are one of the best to tell. Be cautious of provides that ask you to pay upfront.
• Unrelated web sites: These web sites are on the total straightforward to tell: they characteristic information unrelated to the relate or colourful banners and pa-up adverts. Be obvious to test whether the URL or web take care of suits the corporate named in the put up.
• The piece, commentary and inbox entice: Scammers on the total ask americans to engage by liking, commenting on or sharing a put up, which are examples of engagement bait.
• Play your fragment! Because Fb scams thrive on attain, it’s necessary to preserve it up scrolling and no longer spread a dodgy put up extra.