Facebook scam: Shop For FREE at ASDA - FREE ASDA Gift Card

Summary: A new Facebook scam exploits your desire to get a free gift card to ASDA. Many can’t resist the temptation of getting free merchandise from the British supermarket chain.

Following the Starbucks and Tim Hortons scams, Facebook scammers are once again exploiting ignorant victims with claims of freebies. Anyone who shops at the British supermarket is a potential victim.

This version says something along the lines of “Shop For FREE at ASDA - FREE ASDA Gift Card” followed by a link to a fraudulent website. It also has the following description, according to Sophos: “To celebrate our birthday, we are giving away thousands of Gift Vouchers FREE.”

Similar to previous Facebook scams, you need to share the link with your Facebook friends before proceeding. The webpage in question tells you this is necessary to get the free voucher.

There’s also similar Pizza Hut and Argos scams going around. The first is titled “Eat for Free at Pizza Hut!” with the description “Take advantage of this special Pizza Hut offer! Receive a FREE pizza coupon today! Act quickly before the supply runs out. With only a few coupsons left, they’ll go fast!” and the second is titled “Free £500 Argos gift cards for Christmas” with the description “As it’s coming up to Christmas we have decided to give away 250 £500 Argos gift cards.”

The scammers’ goal is to drive more traffic towards certain sites. This is how the scammer earns his or her money: a commission for every survey completed, every product purchased, and/or every account compromised. They also use them to spread malware and obtain personal information.

As I’ve recommended before, if you see a scam like this one, report it. Then go check your own Wall to make sure you’re not spreading the scam; the sooner you clean it up and unlike the page, the better. You can even contact Facebook Security if you’d like to.

Posted in: Tech News