The heart of the internet

The goal is to trick people into clicking on the video link, which redirects to a fake Facebook login page. If you fall for this, you could unwittingly share your username and password with scammers — who will take over your account. Cybercriminals hijacked YouTube channels and streamed pre-recorded interviews featuring Michael Saylor, overlaid with fake text promoting a Bitcoin or Ethereum giveaway. The links redirected viewers to phishing websites that requested wallet deposits under the promise of doubling their crypto. Victims were encouraged to connect their wallet or send crypto to “activate” the bonus. The airdrop never existed—once the wallet interaction occurred, funds were drained or access was compromised.

How to Tell if a Crypto Giveaway Is Real

Cryptocurrency has real value and can be converted into fiat currency through legitimate exchanges. But it doesn’t hand out money randomly or through shady promotions. If you’re earning crypto, it’s either through mining, staking, contributing to a project, or using legitimate earning programs—not giveaways asking you to pay up front. One of the biggest myths scammers exploit is the idea that cryptocurrency gives away free money. While real promotions do exist, they follow strict guidelines—and never ask you to send crypto first. Giveaway.com is an effective marketing platform that helps brands define parameters and conduct a highly effective contest.

How to report a scam

The appeal of online giveaways is undeniable, promising attractive rewards with just a restaurant app builder click or share. With the rise of deceptive practices, ensuring the authenticity of such Instagram giveaways has become crucial for any internet user. All you have to do is correctly follow the instructions, and you will be eligible for the final draws to win the prize. Giveaway.com's provably fair algorithm, anti-cheating technology, and dynamic draw mechanism ensure the fairness of giveaway campaigns. This is a lucky giveaway mode, so you don't need to do anything complex.

• The message explains that the government is giving away grants.
• There's been an uptick in 2023 of scammers digitally manipulating videos (known as “deepfakes”) to develop convincing hoaxes by using the likeness of a public figure.
• It is a scam if an account requests money for shipping fees, taxes, or other reasons.
• As more people embrace the “working from home” lifestyle, fake job offers constitute a growing problem.
• Companies frequently employ contest marketing through giveaways and freebies to boost engagement, raise brand awareness and visibility, expand their audience, or promote a new product.
• If you’re not sure, you can contact the company directly to check.

Protect Your Personal Information

Check the giveaway rules and the profile information (such as the bio link or email address) to make sure that it’s legitimate. This blog post is specifically designed to help UK entrants spot giveaway scams – so some of the advice may not apply to non-UK residents. Most scammers are not UK based, so you’ll be able to spot clues in their content and communication to show it’s how to buy magic crypto a scam. Now that we understand why scammers create fake giveaways, let’s explore how to identify these scams. If the page is missing the Facebook check but is claiming to be an official Facebook page there are a couple of things you need to do.

Verify Before You Trust

Some scammers impersonate companies, such as Ripple, and individuals, such as Brad Garlinghouse, by posting images on social media platforms like X, Facebook, or Instagram. As a competition enthusiast, it’s crucial to spot the red flags of a fake competition before you get caught up. Armed with this knowledge, you can comp safely and avoid losing more than just a competition. It can be tricky to spot fake giveaways and sweepstake scams, especially on social media platforms. To make their scams look more legit, scammers might create fake profiles or websites that use logos, colors, or brands that you recognize.

How to Spot a Fake Giveaway Scam

These Facebook scams often begin with a great job offer — enticing applicants to share onboarding information like Social Security numbers (SSNs) and bank account details. If you provide this data, it may be sold on the Dark Web. Sextortion scams are a darker twist on romance scams, in which imposters convince their targets to send explicit photos or videos. If you do this, the fraudsters immediately demand that you send money — or else they will release the videos to all of your friends and family. Investment fraud happens when con artists convince targets that they can make a lot of money quickly from investments that involve little to no risk. Fraudsters trick victims into investing in various opportunities, including stocks, cryptocurrency, or real estate.

You enter, hoping to be the lucky winner, only to realize later that it was all a scam. It's a frustrating experience that many Instagram users have encountered. What makes these scams especially dangerous is their ability to look exactly like legitimate promotions. They may even hijack real brand logos or create fake profiles that appear verified.

telltale signs of a fake giveaway on social media

Always verify an airdrop on the official project website or community channel. Now that you know how these scams work, let’s look at real incidents that illustrate just how convincing and widespread they’ve become. Scammers often pose as Elon Musk, Vitalik Buterin, or companies like Klever. They may use stolen logos, fake profiles, or deepfake videos to appear legitimate.

Companies frequently employ contest marketing through giveaways and freebies to boost engagement, raise brand awareness and visibility, expand their audience, or promote a new product. If a giveaway promises lavish prizes that seem too extravagant for the account’s size or the nature of the promotion, it might be a red flag. Scammers often use the allure of high-value items to lure unsuspecting participants. Every legitimate online giveaway must have terms and conditions that provide crucial details about the organiser, participation guidelines, winner selection, data handling, etc. If you detect spelling errors, blurry images, or language mistakes, a potential red flag indicates a dubious giveaway. You may already know from hosting a giveaway that legitimate giveaways typically originate from well-established accounts with an active follower base.

• Social media giveaways are a great way to engage with your favourite brands and snag some exciting prizes.
• Scammers are sneaky – they sometimes create fake sites almost identical to the real deal.
• By applying the steps and precautions outlined in this guide, you can confidently participate in genuine Instagram promotions without falling victim to the pitfalls of scams.
• If a contest feels too good to be true, it probably is.

In the ever-evolving world of cryptocurrency, airdrops have become a popular way for blockchain projects to attract attention and grow their communities. By distributing free tokens to wallet holders, projects create buzz, incentivize adoption, and reward early supporters. Genuine giveaways use transparent techniques of winner selection, such as random draw systems. If an organizer claims winners are chosen based on activity volume, engagement, or other non-transparent techniques, it's suspicious. Everyone should have a fair chance to win, and any deviation from that should be investigated. Platforms like Instagram verify large, established businesses' profiles to identify them from illegitimate or fan-made ones.

Any offer that promises free crypto instantly, without clear terms or verification, is almost certainly a scam. They’re considered promotional giveaways or user incentives. However, fake airdrops can lead to legal trouble if you unknowingly participate in or share scams.

How do you find legit Instagram giveaways?

If you get a random message saying you’ve won, be sceptical. Verify the message by checking the account for authenticity, and never click on links or engage with random and unsolicited direct messages (DMs). This is how scammers trick you into going to fake websites or downloading malware onto your device.

So if there's no tick, look for the page creation date too. A national retail chain, bank or major airline are all very unlikely to have registered their Facebook page within the last few hours stochastic oscillator settings for 1 hour chart or days. But if you find a giveaway which just seems too good to be true… maybe check the calendar. Try running it through a tool like Modash’s Fake Follower Check.

To achieve this, they created a giveaway campaign using the Lucky Giveaway mode on Giveaway.com. While stock photos are acceptable, a brand or influencer offering a specific prize should ideally use their own images. If you spot generic or unauthorised images, scepticism is warranted. When in doubt, run the image through a quick Google search to check for prior usage. Everyone loves the idea of winning something big—but not at the cost of your digital security. If a contest feels too good to be true, it probably is.