‘Woolworths Coupons’ Facebook Page is a Like-Farming Scam

The Facebook Page is fraudulent. It is not associated with Woolworths and it is not giving away coupons as claimed. The Page is a scam designed to accumulate large numbers of likes in a short period of time. Once the Page has a large number of likes, it can be reused for further scam campaigns or sold on the black market to other scammers.

According to a post from a Facebook Page called ‘Woolworths Coupons’, you can win one of three Woolworths vouchers worth $250 just by liking and sharing the post and adding the comment ‘Thank you for this giveaway’. Supposedly, winners will be announced in early April. The newly created Page features the Woolworths logo as its Profile image.

However, the Page is fraudulent and has no connection whatsoever with the Australian supermarket giant. No vouchers are being given away. In fact, the Facebook page is a scam designed to collect as many likes as possible in the shortest possible time. By tricking people into liking, sharing and commenting on the fraudulent prize post, the scammers ensure that their fake page will be extensively promoted across the network and they will gain a great many new Page likes very quickly.

Once the fake Facebook Page has gathered a large number of likes, it can then be used to distribute survey scams or other types of scam posts, this time to a considerably larger potential audience. Or, the Page may be sold on the black market to other scammers who will repurpose it to suit their own nefarious goals.

Like-farming scams like this one are extremely common on Facebook. New versions appear every day. Be wary of any Facebook post or Page that claims that you can win valuable prizes such as store vouchers, gift cards, cars, airline tickets, or vacations just by liking and sharing.

Note that the genuine Woolworths Facebook Page features Facebook’s blue ‘verified’ icon beside its name.