Word game and brainteaser scams sweeping Facebook
William Summers
October 2, 2024
WHAT WAS CLAIMED
Facebook users can win prizes for solving simple puzzles.
OUR VERDICT
False. The posts are scams designed to trick people into visiting suspicious websites.
AAP FACTCHECK – Facebook posts claim to be offering cash prizes or free cars to people who can solve a simple puzzle.
This is false. The posts are a scam pushing people to suspicious websites.
The posts invite Facebook users to solve various brainteasers or number puzzles, such as this post featuring a purported “eye test” asking people to count the number of ducks in an image.
Other posts invite users to spot the odd number among a block of numbers, or promise a free car to anyone who can guess a state without the letter “e” in its name.
People who put their guesses in the comments are encouraged to click a link in the comments to claim their “prize”.
The links redirect people to suspicious websites that ask users to provide their contact details or complete various consumer surveys.
The websites don’t mention the prizes promised in the original Facebook posts.
Monica Whitty, a cybersecurity professor at Monash University, saidthe scam puzzles aim to trigger curiosity and excitement.
“It’s a deliberate strategy aimed at all viewers,” she told AAP FactCheck.
“However, those who are more likely to click on these would most likely score significantly higher on measures of impulsivity.”
Gareth Norris, a senior psychology lecturer at Aberystwyth University in Wales who has researched internet fraud, said anyone could become a victim as the scam posts were targeted and clever.
“It makes it look like a game of skill, but like most scams [skill] has nothing to do with it,” Dr Norris told AAP FactCheck.
“They may hook some people who believe they’ve spotted something others haven’t … once you’ve interacted with one, it’s likely that you’ll then be targeted more.”
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission previously told AAP FactCheck that fake Facebook posts are intended “to elicit money or personal information from you for the purpose of identity theft”.
Scammers are making thousands of Facebook posts encouraging people to share and/or click nefarious links.
By engaging, you may also be tricked into advertising a scam to your family and friends on social media without realising it.
That’s why it’s vital to know how to be on the lookout.
HOW TO SPOT A SCAM POST ON FACEBOOK – THE RED FLAGS
Treat posts appealing for help to find lost people or pets, offering very cheap or free products and services, or inviting you to solve a puzzle, with caution if they include more than one of the following features:
* The person encourages everyone to share their post widely.
* They don’t provide their contact details, or they ask people to send them a DM or PM (direct message or private message).
* The post includes only vague details about the location of the person or pet, or the giveaway.
* The account of the person posting is less than a year old, has no profile picture, has very few friends, or isn’t located in the same area as their post’s subject. This indicates the account is fake.
* You can’t comment on the post because the person has disabled comments. This is done to stop people from warning others that it’s a scam. (AAP)
