“Tis the season to….. offer free things but it’s a scam”. Yes, sadly fraudsters use this time of year to falsely attract victims by offers of a free PlayStation, iPhone, Cadbury’s hampers etc. Every day we are seeing examples. In the one pictured below poor Siobhan Power is praying to get it for her son. These posts are either clickbait used to attract views, get shares, and lure people to nefarious websites or ask for personal details which are then used for identity theft.
IF IT’S TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE IT’S A SCAM!
Tips and Advice
- Seen a post with a great giveaway? – Please don’t share, like or comment on it
- Too good to be true? – Yes, it’s a scam, the hotter the product the more scams there are!
- Personal means private! – Do not divulge personal details unless you are certain who you are communicating with
- Report it – to Facebook by clicking on the 3 dots in the righthand corner of your screen and clicking on “Report Ad”
- Contact – your bank or credit card company if you have already given out financial details
- Still Unsure? – Call Reassura 0800 888 6400 and one of our fraud advisors will help you to stay safe
- To report a fraud – and receive a police crime reference number call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or use their online fraud reporting tool
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