FALSE PRIZE GAMES ARE MORE AND MORE PRESENT ON THE SOCIAL NETWORK FACEBOOK

The trend with the false prize games on the social network Facebook continues. The F2N2 team has already written on this topic, but our monitoring team noticed that the fake prize games havr appeared again. Bikes, swimming pools, watches, motorbikes are only part of the material goods that are offered as a gift when Facebook users like and share the page that has published the false prize game.

Example 1:

This is a Facebook page that sales footwear, which in two days (June 27 and 29 June) publishes the same photo with identical text that read: We donate 3 bikes in the next 48 hours. Everyone who will LIKE THE PAGE👍 and SHARE THE PAGE 👉 will receive a gift !!!

The page at the time of writing of our article has been deleted, but in addition we are showing you a photo as an evidence of the published fake prize game on their home page. If we summarise the interactions from the two photos, we would get large numbers: 4.800 emoticons, 3,100 comments and 6,100 shares.

The same page on June 30 has published a photo of a different bike from the previous two posts, but in this post the alleged winner of the bicycle is mentioned without a tag. To win more reactions and audience, the text states that new shares of the old post will not be taken into consideration, that is, they should share again the new post, in order to reach as many new followers as possible. The new post for a short period of time gained 1,400 emoticons, 1,100 comments and 2000 shares.

The second example is about a page named “Evtino Mk” that, except 2 photos that refer to an alleged award game, there are no other posts. One post is with “humanitarian character”, that is, a scooter will be given to one user who will like and share their page, while the other post is a prize game where the main prize is a four-wheeled bicycle, again, with the same rules i.e. like and share the page.

The same page on June 5 has changed its name from “Evtino Stiil MK” to “Evtino MK”.

Before changing the name, the same page published another fake prize game where they will supposedly donate 100 pools. Obviously the tactic is manipulating the feelings of citizens in order to gain as many followers as possible.

Example 3:

This  is a Facebook group created on May 30, which through the already known template for gaining followers, publishes the same posts in two days in which it is stated that they will give away a total of 20 male and 20 female watches. As evidence that it is a false prize game is the fact that they have stated that the names of the winners will be published on 01.07.2020, which they haven’t done. Additionally, the watches they give away for free have a price of 42 dollars, which in itself makes the authenticity of the prize game additionally dubious.

Example 4:

The next prize game is published on two groups, one of which has already been deleted. It’s about donating i.e. giving away pools, with the same manipulation technique, like and share. It is obvious that they have used the same photo, the difference is only in the number of pools that will “donate”.

The main goal of such fraud is to collect as many likes or followers of a particular Facebook group as possible. In this way, fraudsters reach a large number of followers. Additionally, the more shares and interactions a particular post on Facebook has, the more the Facebook algorithm increases the range and reaches a larger number of users. Why fake prize games? Most often the topics that manipulate the citizens in this way manipulate emotions. In that direction, the economic situation of some of our citizens is abused, and of course here is the psychological moment “to get something for free“.

Every citizen is a potential victim of such manipulations, we must responsibly use social media and check before we follow a page, especially if it offers us something attractive and for free.