Company Anniversary Free Product Scam : snopes.com

Origin:Scammers and malware purveyors are always looking for ways to entice online users into following web links that will lead those victims into the traps set for them, and offers of free products are prime bait in that pursuit of prey. One common method such predators use is establishing fake Facebook accounts mimicking those of well-known vendors of consumer products (typically of the edible variety, such as Starbucks, Taco Bell, McDonalds, KFC, Wendys and Burger King) and posting bogus offers for lifetime passes or other dispensations of free product as part of a supposed company anniversary or birthday celebration (eg, Starbucks is giving away free lifetimes in celebration of the brands 44th anniversary).

The primary type of free product fraud is the sweepstakes scam, which is intended to lure victims into completing numerous surveys, disclosing a good deal of personal information, and then agreeing to sign up for costly, difficult-to-cancel Reward Offers hidden in the fine print. The scammers spread links via e-mail and Facebook that purport to offer free product to those who follow those links.

These web pages (which are not operated or sponsored by the companies they reference) typically ask the unwary to click what appear to be Facebook share buttons and post comments to the scammers site (which is really a ruse to dupe users into spreading the scam by sharing it with all of their Facebook friends). Those who follow such instructions are then led into a set of pages prompting them to input a fair amount of personal information (including name, age, address, and phone numbers), complete a lengthy series of surveys, and finally sign up (and commit to paying) for at least two Reward Offers (eg, Netflix subscriptions, credit report monitoring services, prepaid credit cards):

Pursuant to the Terms Conditions, you are required to complete 2 of the Reward Offers from the above. You will need to meet all of the terms and conditions to qualify for the shipment of the reward. For credit card offers, you must activate your card by making a purchase, transferring a balance, or making a cash advance. For loan offers you must close and fund the loan. For home security and satellite tv offers you must have the product installed. You may not cancel your participation in more than a total of 2 Reward Offers within 30 days of any Reward Offer Sign-Up Date as outlined in the Terms Conditions (the Cancellation Limit).

Not only that, but the fine print on the free product offers typically states that by accepting its terms, the user agrees to receive telemarketing phone calls and text messages from a variety of different companies:

Similar phony free product lures are used to spread malware. In those versions of the scam, those who attempt to reach the URL provided for the purpose of claiming the free products are instead victimized by a Facebook lifejacking attack, a malicious script that takes over a users Facebook profile without their knowledge and propagates itself to their friends accounts as well.

In short, those who seek free merchandise generally end up paying a dear cost for it.

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