Facebook contest scams are nothing new. In fact, they are quite prevalent in today’s day and age. Last night alone, I spotted three friends sharing a Facebook contest scam on my timeline. Apparently, you can win a trip to Maldives just by liking a Facebook page and sharing a photo!!! Now, I don’t want to be a killjoy or ruin your Maldives dreams, so feel free to keep sharing what you please; but in case you have only been sharing these contests “just in case” and because you really don’t know a scam when you see one, here are some sure ire signs to help you spot one:
How to Spot a Facebook Contest Scam
The punctuation,spelling and grammar are bad.
This is a big red flag. If the punctuation, spelling and grammar of the Facebook page are bad, it is very safe to assume that the contest is a scam. If the prize is extremely huge, like a car or an all-expense paid trip, you can be sure that the brand or the company behind the Facebook page probably has enough money to hire a professional social media manager who can speak the language well.
They link you to a page that has nothing to do with the Facebook page.
Most of the time, Facebook pages that hold contest scams will redirect you to another URL where you will have to fill up a form. If the URL that they are directing to has absolutely nothing to do with what you want to win (let’s say you’re joining to win a phone, but are directed to imascamindisguise.com, for example), then it probably isn’t legit.
There is a dot at the end of the page name.
Or an underscore. Or dash. Or any other random symbol, really.
There is nothing else on the page.
It’s easy to scroll down a Facebook page. If the Facebook page only has random photos or posts about the Facebook contest on it and nothing else, then they probably aren’t a legitimate page and they probably aren’t affiliated with whichever brand you are trying to win something from.
You’ve seen the photos on Google.
If the Facebook page doesn’t provide any original photos, then it is probably fake. This is actually pretty easy to spot. Try Googling “iPhone” or “Maldives” and see if the photos that appear are the ones on the Facebook page. If they are, then hello, Facebook contest scam!
It’s too good to be true.
Generally speaking, when a Facebook contest sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
