Technology is a wonderful thing. It can make our lives easier in many ways and in the case of social media, it gives us the opportunity to stay connected to friends and family we may not get to see in person as much as we'd like. However, for all the people creating new technology for those reasons and others, there seem to be just as many who are figuring out ways to use it to trick people and take their money. The latest example is a fake Facebook account pretending to be the popular Evansville bakery, Donut Bank, attempting to give away products that don't exist.

Donut Bank Bakery Issues Warning Over Fake Facebook Profile

On Friday (April 21st, 2023), Donut Bank hosted a giveaway on its Facebook page giving its followers the chance to win a dozen cookies to celebrate National Oatmeal Cookie Day coming up on Sunday, April 30th. A pretty nice gesture, right? The post received over 250 comments from followers hoping their comment would be the chosen one. Fast forward a few hours later, around 8:30 PM, and the bakery posted again about the giveaway only this time it was a warning about an account pretending to be Donut Bank replying to some of the comments in the original post telling those people they were the winner and to visit a website to claim their prize. Of course, when those people clicked the link, it took them to a site that asked for credit or debit card information.

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As is the case anytime a scam like this pops up online, Donut Bank reminded its followers that they would never ask for personal information such as a credit or debit card number for a giveaway, and that winner would be contacted by direct message on Facebook and given instructions on how to claim their free cookies.

While there's nothing new about this type of scam, it serves as a good reminder that you should never share personal information online if asked. Exceptions would be businesses such as Amazon, Walmart, Target, or other reputable retailers, as well as restaurants that offer an online ordering option whose apps you download and have verified are from the business themselves.

FYI, the registration period for Donut Bank's free cookie giveaway ends this Sunday (April 30th) with the winner scheduled to be announced the next day (May 1st), so there's still time to enter if you haven't already.

[Source: Donut Bank on Facebook]

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