Another Facebook Scam That Promises To Give Away PlayStation 4
Yet another hoax, the page is unfortunately lying and is just an attempt to lure users in to liking the bogus page and spamming its fraudulent messages. The goal is to get as many likes as possible, so that the bogus page can be used to produce more scams or much worse be sold on the black market to other scammers.
Based on the report by Hoax-Slayer.com, the bogus page will entice readers with the simple trick of making them share a photo, like the page and leave a comment and from there the page promises to give away 200 pieces of Playstation 4 on December 1. The fraudulent page even explained why they will be giving away the said gaming device, for the simple reason that the boxes have already been unsealed and therefore, cannot be sold anymore.
But then again, it's a hoax, so the promise to give away the game consoles is untrue and the only winners of this act are the scammers who created the page. This is not the first time that such a thing has happened. In the past, there were other pages that offered to give away expensive items simply because they were already unsealed. So it will be helpful to note that any promo or page that claims that they'll be giving away expensive products just because the packaging has been opened is one big lie.
How does this scam work?
The aim of these Facebook scammers is to gain large numbers of Page likes. With the many users tricked and in turn spamming their friends with the fake prize messages, the scammers will be able to promote the bogus Page all over Facebook and getting countless likes. Even the comments left on the page will also help spread the scam.
This type of tactic can generate hundreds of thousands of likes in a short span of time. After the scammers get enough volume of likes, they can already launch survey scams or even other fraudulent acts. The criminals can contact people who have participated and may trick these innocent participants by asking them to send fees or even personal information by informing the "likers" that they have won.
According to Snopes, Sony has never engaged in such promotion where the company will be giving away free Playstations. The tech company also cleared that they are not in any way connected to the Facebook page where the scam originated. Sony also cannot blame people who have been enticed by the scam using their famous game console.
Finally, recent scams involved iPhones and iPads as prizes if users participate. Thus, this leaves consumers to be extra mindful of the Facebook pages or messages that claim that they can win a certain expensive prize by just hitting on like and share.