It’s the golden rule of the internet – if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. There’s currently a JB Hi-Fi scam doing the rounds on Facebook promising a free $200 gift card to the first 25,000 attendants of a special JB Hi-Fi event. The only thing you’re going to win by joining the event is compromised privacy and online security.
At the time of writing, more than 43,000 people have registered as attending the event, with over a million more “invited”.
Gizmodo spoke to JB Hi-Fi CEO Terry Smart who told us that the company discovered the scam early Friday, and took immediate steps to dissuade people from taking part, posting messages on their Facebook and Twitter accounts, as well as their home page:
“The ‘Free JB Hi-Fi Gift Card’ offer being shared on Facebook is a hoax. Please be aware of this scam, DO NOT ‘like’ or ‘share’ on Facebook or enter any personal details. For more information please visit scamwatch.gov.au”
If you take a laissez-faire attitude to your privacy and clicked on the event, you’ll probably need to resecure your Facebook account, before the scammers can harvest too much information. Scamwatch has a couple of links on how to do that, as well as some good ideas to keep in mind the next time you think a major corporation is going to give you lots of stuff for nothing on social networks…
[Scamwatch]
[Thanks Chris!]
xXNapsterManXx
Monday, December 12, 2011 at 5:03 PMLMAO i knoe people that joined this and all becuase 1 of my cheap ass friends sent them invites LOL
LinkageAX
Monday, December 12, 2011 at 5:12 PMI joined it to see what it was and checking the groups facebook page revealed that this was a scam.
Chuloopa
Monday, December 12, 2011 at 5:15 PMlol the things some people fall for
Simon
Monday, December 12, 2011 at 5:21 PMYup, friend invited me and i told her she should probably not enter it but she already had ><
Morkai
Monday, December 12, 2011 at 5:26 PMI put something like this post on my wall, and one of my friends commented with “oh well, looks like I fell for it again…”
Elmer Tramp
Monday, December 12, 2011 at 5:28 PM\o/
You had me at free JB Hi-Fi $200 vouchers!! Winning on Facebook again!! I’m outta here!
Later, dudes.
McGarnical
Monday, December 12, 2011 at 7:04 PM$200 voucher? Awesome !!!
brb,
popo
Monday, December 12, 2011 at 5:50 PMyeah, knew it as soon as i saw it. Pity anybody that fell for it.
Freeze S. Preston Icequire
Monday, December 12, 2011 at 6:32 PMIf you check the web address on the facebook post its hifijd.com.
Zac
Monday, December 12, 2011 at 10:07 PMThere’s so many more, or there were this morning, I saw one that was jbhifi.tk/facebook. To this day it befuddles me that people aren’t aware that most big companies register in their own country
Pariah
Monday, December 12, 2011 at 6:35 PMI wonder what it’s like inside the heads of the idiots that fall for these things.
ilzydroid
Monday, December 12, 2011 at 6:58 PMEmpty, I’d imagine!
Pariah
Monday, December 12, 2011 at 7:09 PMAgreed.
Cleanskin
Monday, December 12, 2011 at 7:39 PMClose. greed.
scree
Monday, December 12, 2011 at 9:15 PMIt’s not the case here, but usually scams are aimed at people who really need the money. My mother is a pensioner and fell for a scam (Indians pretending to be the government). I warned her, but we did need the money so she eventually talked me around. They ended up with her whole pension and we had to ask for food vouchers from a Church because the Salvos wouldn’t help us.
Like I said they target people who really need the money.
Ynefel
Monday, December 12, 2011 at 7:17 PMThe golden rule of the internet? Try the golden rule of life.
EmbraceThePing
Monday, December 12, 2011 at 8:07 PMEeex – Cellent!
They fell for it. Now I’ll be the only one at JB HIFI and I’ll have ALL THE VOUCHERS!!! =D
Pariah
Monday, December 12, 2011 at 8:07 PM+1
Suq Madiq
Monday, December 12, 2011 at 9:21 PMSounds like Nick doesn’t want anyone else entering the draw incase they win and he doesn’t. Good ploy Nick, good ploy indeed.
Ad
Monday, December 12, 2011 at 9:29 PMThe internet has been around for a while now. If you fall for this kind of thing, you kind of have it coming.
McGarnical
Monday, December 12, 2011 at 11:15 PMNot really. Sure you need to be careful, but the blame really needs to be on the scammer.
Tasos Chrysostomou
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 at 12:57 AMI went on it to troll them but the event had wall post disabled.
Josh
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 at 9:31 AMBasic mathematics, reading comprehension, and common sense would make one aware immediately. Unfortunately, a few people on my Facebook don’t poccess these traits.
Seriously, I looked at it for 3 seconds, and instantly knew it was rubbish. Not only the URL, but the math.
Are people really this stupid?
JumpJumpDie
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 at 10:24 AMEven if people follow through with the scam and actually get scammed… all that happens is you get signed up to an expensive mobile text “service”. You just sms stop to them and you are out of it.
Not great, but still not really a big deal. I spent a good few hours reporting idiots who liked this as spam on my FB.