Facebook and Kroger are working together to fix a fake coupon issue on the social networking website. An almost-real looking but fake coupon was posted on the platform calling users to collect their coupons and get free groceries worth $100 at Kroger if they spend $110 in one purchase.
Kroger asks users to stay alert
There is a link in the coupon that reads “Happy Father’s Day! Get your $100 Kroger Coupon.”
Kroger advised shoppers in an official post not to believe any of these links or share any personal information. There is no information from Kroger if the coupon contains malware or if it is any other type of scam.
“Attention Kroger Customers: There is currently an unauthorized ‘Get $100 in Free Groceries when you spend $110 or more in one transaction’ offer circulating on Facebook,” Kroger said in the post.
Previously, Kroger and various other grocers have been victims to such scams. In December 2013, a post on Kroger’s Facebook page warned of a fake $250 Kroger gift card giveaway.
Kroger told Clint Davis of the Scripps National Desk that they have conveyed the issue to Facebook and asked the social network to block the posts generated by the hoax site as spam. Also Kroger has asked the domain name provider to remove the site.
Fake coupons run rampant on Facebook (FB)
Social media gives an upper hand to fraud by exposing innocent deal enthusiasts to fake coupons available online. Last month, Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) was flooded with a false Lowe’s offer that was meant to trick its home improvement customers into sharing a Facebook post that had the Lowe’s logo and then comment on the original post. Lowe’s also used social medial to unravel the rumor, telling shoppers that the coupon is not valid. Similarly, in February, an identical scam hit Target shoppers online, offering a fake $100 food and beverage coupon just to share a post on Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)k.
Snopes.com, an urban legend website, claims that Costco has also been facing similar issues on Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) for several years now with $1,000, $500 and $200 gift card giveaways that take customers to a website that requests personal information.
A non-profit retail fraud awareness group, Coupon Information Corporation, keeps a database of known fraudulent coupons on its website. On Monday, seven new fake coupons were added to the database, all related to Pepsi items, says a report from WCPO. Only a couple of weeks ago, Home Depot also warned its customers of a bogus coupon on Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB).
