The JB Hi-Fi gift card offer on Facebook is a hoax

David Heath
Monday, 12 December 2011 23:21

Business IT - Security

Make a comment on the HolidayGiveaway Facebook page and receive a $200 JB Hi-Fi voucher.  How easy could it be?

Please, remember the old adage - if it looks too good to be true, it probably is!

According to JB Hi-Fi's Facebook 'wall,' late on Friday afternoon last week, they posted, "Hey guys, be careful with the holidaygiveaway voucher site. We have reason to believe it's a scam so beware."

This was followed up on Monday with, "SCAM UPDATE: As per our previous post last Friday. Please be warned, JB Hi-Fi is NOT giving away Gift Cards, this is a scam. Anything you see involving Facebook 'likes', 'shares' or 'events' and offering free JB Gift Cards is a hoax."

To add to the tale, the ACCC's Scamwatch site also points to the foolishness of expecting anything (other than pain and anguish) from such pages.

Almost invariably these scams are designed to defraud a variety of innocent advertisers (not JB Hi-Fi in this case - they're simply an innocent bystander) who's advertisements on Facebook are delivered to people who simply don't care about the products advertised (just the anticipated prize).

For those interested in the thrill of seeing the scam page at work, look here.

Let's count the ways in which this is clearly a scam.

1. Why on earth would a public company give away 300 vouchers valued at "$50 to $500?"  That's $150,000 - $1,500,000!  Are they crazy, what's the gain?
2. Hover over the word sender at the top of the page, lasbelled "Free gift cards."  Why on earth would JB promote themselves with an image of KFC?
3. If JB's Facebook page has 85,078 'likes' how on earth could they have invited over 4,000,000 to the giveaway?  More, with 3,000 cards on offer, how could 226,081 be 'going?'  One assumes this is code for 'accepted.'
4. The title of the page says that 300,000 will get a gift card, the body says only 3,000.  Get your facts straight guys!

Not only does this look to good to be true, it definitely is.  Ignore it, it's a hoax.