Businesses and individuals are being warned to watch out for fake Christmas gift cards being distributed through social media sites after some Australian companies have been forced to issue clarifications saying they are not offering discounts of any sort.
The scams have also caused some victims to become upset with businesses they thought were offering discounts – a trend Sophos security head Paul Ducklin says is likely to increase this time of year.
“Certainly around Christmas and other periods of high amounts of shopping you can expect to see gift card scams increase in number,” he told SmartCompany this morning.
JB Hi-Fi confirmed on its Facebook page this weekend that a deal offering $200 gift vouchers for free was a scam, and that customers should ignore it.
JB Hi-Fi Marketing manager Scott Browning says online scams are becoming much harder to deal with due to the rise in social media, which allows fake promotions to spread much more rapidly before they are shut down.
“It’s the effect of having something go viral. We posted a note on Facebook as soon as we saw it, and a lot of customers have been querying it via email.”
“It’s an attractive offer, and once it starts, people find it through recommendations. You only need to get the ball rolling a little bit before plenty of people are on board.”
Browning says there tends to be an increase in these types of scams around Christmas.
“Similar things happened last year. It’s just one of these things – people are in a rush, not paying attention, and they like discounts.”
Ducklin says similar scams have hurt companies including Coles and Costco, and that social media amplifies the problem.
“Because this is a social network, if you see your friend recommending something then you are going to be much more likely to click on it than if you had just come across it on a random website.”
“There are any number of scams going around Facebook at the moment, and certainly around Christmas you expect to see gift card scams increase.”
Ducklin says businesses and individuals should be wary of these scams, noting that if something seems too good to be true, then it most likely is.
“There are a few things that identify these types of scams. The first is that when you have to ‘like’ something in order to receive, but you can’t the content before you ‘like it’.”
“Whenever you see something asking you to like it before you can see it, then it’s most likely a scam.”
Ducklin says individuals need to be careful about what they click – especially when shopping.
“Keep a little bit of common sense. And also keep in mind that when your friends see what you’ve clicked on, or what you’re recommending, they’re more likely to click on that as well.”
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
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