Giveaways are one of the marketing techniques that brands and businesses have been using most in recent years to build a community. This trend has been especially noticeable on Instagram. It is rare for a day to go by without a brand or business running a giveaway, or without a friend tagging us in another one.

And, as always, when something becomes popular on social media, cybercriminals notice and try to take advantage of it.

How do they do it? How do fake giveaways work? They mainly do it using phishing techniques, that is, impersonating someone to deceive their victims—in this case, impersonating the accounts that organize the giveaways.

Cybercriminals take advantage of seasonal situations such as the annual income tax return campaign, supermarket anniversaries, contests organized by brands or influencers, etc., to cast their bait and impersonate these organizations.

It is worth highlighting the situation of many celebrities who are becoming victims of this type of scam, as cybercriminals are impersonating many of them to publish fake giveaways in their name, with the sole aim of scamming their followers or fans.

In this article by our colleagues at maldita.es, 50 cases of ‘phishing’ that are being used to try to scam you during quarantine and how to avoid them, you will find many more examples of fake giveaways.

How to tell if a giveaway is a scam

1. If the giveaway was created by a well-known brand or a well-known influencer, the account will be verified. Make sure it has the blue verification checkmark.

2. The account may not be verified; in that case, look at the following aspects:
   1. Does it have several posts, or is the account newly created?
   2. Does it interact with its followers?
   3. Be suspicious if the ratio between followers and following is not proportionate.

3. Messages: If they send you a message, pay attention to spelling. Brands are very careful with their image and content, so it is unlikely that we will see spelling mistakes.

4. Remember that a giveaway is a gift—if they ask for bank details, be suspicious and… never provide them!

At this point we want to insist: never make payments with a credit or debit card. Our recommendations for making online payments:

• Use virtual cards
• Secure payment platforms such as PayPal
• Prepaid cards

5. The legal terms must be included in any giveaway, as they provide very important information such as: how to contact the brand, participation requirements, the prize, etc.

6. Check who the giveaway sender is: it is increasingly common to receive direct messages or notifications with a fake congratulatory message: «Congratulations! You have won our giveaway; click this link to claim your prize». Ask yourself: do you know them? Who are they? If you have no idea or the account is hard to identify, assume the worst.

7. If someone gives you something without you having entered anything, do you need more evidence to suspect it is a scam? Do not take the bait!

Here is this video by Selva Orejón, where she provides more information and tips to avoid falling into the fake giveaway trap: