A WARNING has been issued over a convincing scam circulating on Facebook.
The so-called “golden envelope” con could trick you into handing over private information.
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It’s a widely shared Facebook post that appears to be legitimate.
The post claims that retailer Marks & Spencer is handing out £750 vouchers to 500 people who share and comment on the post.
But fact-checkers at Full Fact have revealed that the post is a total con.
There’s no such competition, and the Facebook account isn’t affiliated with M&S.
The scam post shows a picture of a woman holding lots of M&S “golden tickets”.
Its caption on the app reads: “Dear Facebook fans. I’m Sarah Louise, Chief Marketing Officer.
“For Christmas this year we have decided to reward 500 people who have shared then commented with a golden envelopes.
“Inside each golden enveloper is £750 to spend at M&S.”
The page that posted the scam isn’t the legitimate M&S page, and has fewer than 150 likes.
By contrast, the genuine M&S page has nearly 6million likes.
Also, fact-checkers point out that the real Marks & Spencer food marketing director is someone named Sharry Cramond.
The actual photo comes from a 2019 M&S blog about a new food hall in Northern Ireland, where the first 200 customers were given tickets.
Sadly despite being a scam, plenty of unsuspecting shoppers have been commenting on the post hoping to win the fake prize.
One person wrote: “Shared this. Most wonderful time of the year.
“It would be lovely to win a golden ticket for me and my family.”
Another said: “Love M&S and this would be such an amazing gift to win for myself and family. Good luck everyone.”
Resharing the post boosts its profile.
And it’s possible that scammers could reach out to “winners” and trick them into handing over private info or money in exchange for the non-existent voucher.
Facebook has since tagged up the post with a False Information warning.
Always be suspicious of deals, competitions and giveaways that seem to good to be true.
It’s often a ploy used by scammers to extract information or cash from you – or to promote their own pages.
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