How to Spot Fake Facebook Competitions

Warning signs of a fake competition

• The page is brand new. Open the page's Page transparency section. A real brand's page has usually existed for years; a fake one was often created days ago, or recently changed its name.
• The name is slightly off. Look for extra words or characters, like "Dunnes Stores Fans", "Aldi Ireland Giveaway" or a stray full stop. Real brand pages often have a blue verified badge.
• The prize is too generous. Hundreds of free flights, camper vans "that can't be sold because they're unboxed", or a voucher for everyone who shares are classic scam hooks.
• It asks you to share, tag friends or comment "done". Meta's own rules for Pages don't allow promotions that require people to share or tag others to enter. Genuine brands still sometimes break this rule, but scam pages always do it, because it spreads the post.
• You're asked to click a link to "claim" or "register". Especially if it goes to a site that isn't the brand's own website.
• There are no terms and conditions. Genuine promoters say who can enter, when it closes and how the winner is picked.
• The page has hardly any other posts. A real brand posts about its products. A fake page is usually nothing but giveaways.

"Congratulations, you've won!" messages

The riskiest part of a scam usually comes after you enter. You get a message or comment reply saying you've won, followed by a request to:

• pay a small fee for "delivery", "customs" or "verification"
• enter your card details to "confirm your identity"
• log in through a link, which steals your Facebook account
• send a code that was texted to your phone

A genuine prize never costs money to claim. And no real promoter needs your card details, passwords or one-time codes.

How to check a competition is real

1. Go to the brand's official website and follow its link to Facebook, rather than trusting the page you found in your feed.
2. Check Page transparency for the creation date and any name changes.
3. Look for the same competition on the brand's website, Instagram or newsletter.
4. Find it on our list of Facebook competitions. We check every competition before it goes live.

If you think you've been scammed

• Gave card details? Contact your bank straight away to cancel the card and watch for unusual payments.
• Entered your Facebook password? Change it, turn on two-factor authentication and log out of other sessions.
• Report the page to Facebook using the Report Page option, and let the real brand know so they can warn their followers.
• Lost money? Report it to your local Garda station.

Find genuine competitions

Every competition on Competitions.ie is checked before it's published, and we link straight to the promoter's own page. Start with the latest competitions or, at this time of year, Christmas competitions. For more tips, read our guide to winning competitions.