UNSUSPECTING Facebook users have been warned not to accept a friend request from a fake Home Bargains group which is trying to steal personal details.
The group, which uses Home Bargains’ logo, has been trying to add Brits as friends by enticing them with competitions.
Home Bargains does have an official Facebook page but this imposter page is not linked to the business.
On Monday the fake page posted a link to a competition which promised a year’s supply of laundry products if users registered their details.
A real competition with the same prize is currently running on the official Home Bargains page.
According to comments under the post on the fake page, at least six people had registered for the fake prize on Monday.
Tell-tale signs that the account was fake included the username, which was “Home-Bargains” rather than “Home Bargains”.
The page URL also included a personal name, rather than a business name.
One user posted on Twitter that she had received six friend requests from the fake account.
“Please be aware someone is pretending to be yourselves and is friend requesting people on Facebook. They are copying your competitions and trying to get details from people,” she wrote.
It is possible to report fake Facebook pages, although the social network does not say how long it might take to get them removed once you do.
HOAR has contacted Facebook and Home Bargains for a comment.
Fake Facebook pages are surprisingly common: earlier this month Anti-Counterfeiting Group warned shoppers about fake clothes being sold after finding a huge surge in counterfeit items being bought.
And in 2017, thousands of Brits were fooled by a fake Tesco Facebook page which claimed to offer followers the chance to win a £1,000 voucher.
Here’s how to avoid a TV Licensing coronavirus scam as Action Fraud warns of a spike in fake emails.
Meanwhile, Amazon shoppers have been conned into handing over bank details in a call scam.
And scammers pretending to be from Tesco have taken in more than 100 people with the offer of non-existent TVs.
Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.hellofaread.com/money/first-time-buyer-mortgages-with-a-10-deposit-make-a-comeback-but-not-if-you-want-to-buy-a-flat/
