Tasmania Police advise users of Facebook to beware of false pages, competitions and surveys.

Last week, a false page called Footlocker Launceston was posted.  It stated that this store was to open in Launceston and even gave details as to where it would be located.  It called for resumes for prospective job seekers.   The posting appeared in newsfeeds and included a competition that required sharing.   There was even an announcement of winners on the newsfeed, in an attempt to have the site look legitimate.

Any person who sent their resume, has provided personal information that may lead to identity theft and should contact IDCare, ph 1300 432 273, who will assist with support processes.  Facebook have removed this site.

Tasmania Police also provides a general warning to be very careful ‘liking or sharing’ online competitions.  These type of supposed giveaways are scams and are known as Facebook Like-Farming Scams.  There is no competition, no car, house, jewellery or shopping trip.  You will notice there is no information about the company posting the competition and when this is about advertising, one would expect publicity.  Scammers post this to obtain as many likes and shares as possible.  This will boost the number of likes and shares and their counts will grow rapidly.  After a time, the operators can then launch other tricks such as survey scams or sell the site on the black market.

Customers tend to trust well-established sites without doing as much homework about them.  Don’t be tempted to participate, because if you do, you will expose your Facebook friends to this or other scams.