Scam Signature Message:

FREE $25 Tim Hortons Gift Card
timhortonsbirthdaygift.me

To celebrate our birthday, we are giving away thousands of
$25 Gift Vouchers FREE – http://timhortonsbirthdaygift.me/

Scam Type: Bogus Offer

Trending: October 2011

Why it’s a Scam:

Clicking the wall post link takes you to the following page:

As usual, here you are asked to Share the message with your friends and enter a comment on the page. After entering the comment, the following page loads:

The first big red flag is that the offer is now Outback Steakhouse and not Tim Hortons as advertised. Also notice the ‘Program Requirements’ – you must complete surveys and a total of 6 sponsor offers. Chances are, after you have completed the offers it isn’t going to be worth the Gift Card, assuming that part of the promotion isn’t a scam. Also keep in mind the scammers are acquiring a treasure trove of your personal data. You will be required to provide your name, address, phone numbers and date of birth. This will enable the shady marketers to not only spam your Facebook account, but also harass you via snail mail, phone calls and text messages.

**Note – this scam is using multiple domains, so you may see a variation in the landing pages employed by the scammers.

How to Deal with the Scam:

If you did make the mistake of sharing the scam link, then you are now spamming your friends with the very same message. Clean-up your newsfeed and profile to remove references to the scam. (click the “x” in the top right hand corner of the post).

Be on the lookout for more marketing offers arriving to your email inbox and physical address if you submitted that information to the scammers. Also be aware and alert for possible identity theft attempts.

If you or your Facebook friends are falling for tricks like this, it’s time to get yourself informed of the latest threats. Be sure to join the Facecrooks page on Facebook to be kept informed of the latest security issues. Also check out:

Your Ultimate Guide to Facebook Scams and How to Deal with Them

How to spot a Facebook Survey Scam

BitDefender Safego is a Facebook application you can install that will scan your News Feed and help keep you safe from scams like this.