Don’t Fall For This Coca-Cola Scam in Evansville (or Anywhere)

A post on Facebook is going viral saying that Coca-Cola is giving away free cash, but that simply isn't true.

In case you were unaware, in the world of social media, if you see a post that seems too good to be true...it usually is. Not to point fingers or anything, but there are some pretty gullible people out there that fall for every post they see. Case in point: a few months ago there was a post that went viral which is offering free meal vouchers for Texas Roadhouse. So many people liked, commented, and shared it believing that it was legit. However if they had only taken a little bit of time to look at the page that posted it, they would have known what the rest of us already knew...it was a scam.

It's a new year, which means new scams...

I saw a post shared on Facebook today involving Coca-Cola. A ton of people love Coca-Cola and would love to receive free products or free cash. That's exactly what this post from Coca-CoIa FANS offers:

Hi everyone! We have thousands of selected boxes left from New Year celebrations, we know time has been a struggle recently and we will be doing something special for everyone who shares+comments before January 8th a bag full of necessities in this new year. We have packed every bag full of goodies. we also place a $500 voucher in 100 random bags. We can only ship one per household.

The page has responded to those commenting on the post with the same comment that makes it look even fishier:

Your entry is almost complete! You still need to complete the validation process first. To do this simply share this post with 8 active groups you are in. Once finished we need 24 hours to check everything. Thanks and Good Luck.

 

Let's say it together, folks: THIS IS A SCAM!

I get it, the thought of getting free cash is super appealing...if it's legit. However, there are a lot of red flags with this post that scream "SCAM". The sad thing is, a lot of people don't take the time to see them. They see the word "free" and assume that it's legit. However, that's not the case with this post.

First off, that's not even the real Coca-Cola account. It's a fake "fan" account".  The official Coca-Cola Facebook account has a blue checkmark behind its name. That blue checkmark is important.  That checkmark means that is the actual person/business, any other profile is FAKE. It's important to know that so that you don't fall for false information or a potential scam.

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Spotting "fake news" such as this Coca-Cola post should be common sense, but common sense isn't so common anymore. Here's some advice on what to do when you see a post like this. If you question if it is legit or not, a simple Google search will help. If the page/site that posted the article/post in question is not a credible source (or if you don't know if it is credible or not), be sure to do a quick search on other news sites to see if that story is on there. Also, be sure to check out the date on the articles. You will see a lot of people share old posts without realizing that it already happened a few years ago. It may not be fake news, but it could be old news.