Facebook users are being warned over a scam offering fake meal vouchers for Wetherspoon pubs across the UK.
The pub chain closed down all of its social media accounts in 2018 but that hasn’t stopped fraudsters posing as the budget pub chain, consumer watchdog Which? has warned.
Posts are claiming that users who comment and get a response from the account will receive free Wetherspoon meal vouchers but the pages are in fact set up by scammers targeting social media users.
The posts read ‘Congratulations for those of you who have received comments from us, you have the opportunity to win them’. You are then asked to like and share the post with your friends.
The pages set up by scammers don’t have large followings however concerns are being raise over the potential to reach a large audience.
According to Which? searches for ‘Wetherspoons Facebook scam’ have risen by 800% on Google in the past week.
While it is unclear what happens if you fall victim to the scam, users are asked to ‘like’ and ‘share’ to enter a competition by following a link to the competition website, where users are asked to enter their details to claim their prize.
Wetherspoon issue statement on Facebook scams
Wetherspoon’s website states that: “Wetherspoon does not use any social media. Any promotions on social media which appear to be from Wetherspoon are, therefore, unofficial and fake – so please do not participate or share your details with such adverts.
“We will continue to report fake pages and do apologise for any inconvenience caused by these unassociated spam accounts.”
How to spot a Facebook scam
As well as reporting scams to Action Fraud you can help protect other by using the Which? scam sharer tool.
Which has put together a list of things to look out for when you suspect a scam.
- Is the deal ‘too good to be true’? – If the deal or competition looks too good to be true, it probably is. A quick Google search will tell you if the legitimate company is promoting the giveaway.
- Check the URL – If you’ve followed a link, does the URL look suspicious? If it does, leave the site.
- Check your social timeline – Is there a high number of people posting or sharing the same thing? They may have been scammed.
- Check the branding – scammers are becoming more and more sophisticated but there might be giveaways such as inconsistencies in the branding that could give them away.
- Send a message – if someone you know has posted or shared something suspicious, ask them. Send them a message to make sure – it may have been intentional.
- Contact the company directly – Reach out to the company on social media, via email or over the phone to check whether the competition or giveaway is real.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article