I spotlighted an Aldi contest scam earlier in the week. (Click here to learn about that one). Today, we’ll take a look at a Kohl’s coupon scam. I’ve told you about scams like this before, but as the scams keep growing and people keep sharing them, it seems like a good idea to keep reminding everyone how they work and show you what they look like. The post said that if you just shared it and commented, you’d receive your coupon via Messenger. There are so many signs this is a giant scam, I can’t quite list them all. First of all, how in the world could a company afford to give everyone on Facebook who bothered to share a coupon $150 off? Real coupons have limits and also generally have would not say anything about “gift carshipping” and might spell Coupon right in the fine print.
One look at the alleged page for Kohl’s and you’ll see the problem. There is no blue checkmark to verify that it is actually Kohl’s plus there are only 27,000 likes. Also, there are just a few posts. All signs that this just isn’t real.
Why the fake? You’ll be expecting a message from Kohl’s. Scammers can use that message to send a malicious link or to target you for a Messenger scam. It’s also a great way to collect names of accounts to clone. You’ve fallen for one scam, so that makes you a prime target for more. And by sharing, you’ve also offered up your friends to these crooks. The actual Kohl’s page features a checkmark by the name.
There are also several million followers and several years worth of posts.
Think before you share!