SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KRON) – Free Chick-fil-A gift basket? It’s a hoax!
Chick-fil-A is currently working to remove a Facebook post advertising a gift-basket to celebrate the company’s 61st Anniversary, according to spokesperson Tiffany Simmons.
A post that was circulating on Facebook stated that the company is “giving EVERYONE who shares & then comments by 7 pm SUNDAY one of these gift baskets.”
Inside the gift-basket was ‘a $35 gift card, “plus surprises that will make your heart flutter.”
Travis Porter, claiming to be the Regional Manager of Chick-fil-A, posted the photo with a link to a coupon to validate their entry.
The Federal Trade Commission found that consumers lost nearly $117 million to scams on social media in the first six months of this year.
Here are ways the FTC offers to protect yourself from these types of online scams:
- Before you buy based on an ad or post, check out the company. Type its name in a search engine with words like or “scam” or “complaint.”
- Never send money to a love interest you have not met in person.
- If you get a message from a friend about a way to get some financial relief, call them. Did they forward it to you? If not, tell them their account may have been hacked. If so, check it out before you act.
- Before paying into an “opportunity” to earn money, check out ftc.gov/mlm.
- Don’t make it easy for scammers to target you – check your social media privacy settings to limit what you share publicly.