Many many many many many many (yes, that many, if not more) people around the world have fallen for scams on social networks. These scams promise discounts, prizes and gifts from many popular brands but instead steal personal information and use your friend’s sense of security to spread to your friends and family.
So, how does one spot if a promotion is authentic?
There are always tell-tale signs and these are some of the biggest ones:
1) The domain is long, jumbled or intentionally chosen to appear similar to big brand names. Check for I’s changed with L’s and other such tricks.
2) The brand’s logo, social media icons, and copyright message at the bottom should link directly to the official website/presences. No brand will ever run a campaign that’s not linked to them directly.
3) If delivered by an agency/3rd-party campaign service, click on their links at the bottom of the page to ensure that the company running the campaign is legitimate company.
(We ALWAYS brand our online campaigns with a link to our site, or the agency we are working with.)
4) There is no legitimate Terms & Conditions attached.
5) The design is very similar to an authentic website. Most times they mimic social networks like Facebook and YouTube. Look for mistakes in the layout!
6) If you are still unsure, drop us a link below in the comments and we will verify if we believe it is a legitimate campaign or a scam, along with why.
Please do not let yourselves get duped, as your (and your friends’) information can be used in identity fraud, adult content promotion and other awful online misdeeds. SHARE THE KNOWLEDGE, be vigilant with what you click and if it sounds too good to be true, it might just be.
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