Don't Fall For This Facebook Chick-Fil-A Hoax
A chicken sandwich from Chick-fil-A, especially if it's free does sound enticing, doesn't it? Unfortunately, scammers have caught onto this idea and have tried to lure innocent people into sharing their personal information in exchange for gifts that don't actually exist. In January 2020, scammers took to Facebook Messenger and reached out to unsuspecting fans, telling them to either share or go to a link on Facebook in order to get free meals from the fast food chain (via Snopes).
Back then, the company had stated that there was no truth to these complimentary coupons. What scammers also tried to do was time their posts to match outdated updates that invited customers to be a part of a raffle to get access to free meals for one whole year. As Snopes explained, these offers were real but outdated and were being used by scammers to their advantage.
Unfortunately it looks like scammers are back in action and there has been a surge in fake posts. Here's what you need to know so you don't fall for this Facebook Chick-fil-A hoax.
How to avoid the Chick-fil-A hoax
As reported by Fox29, scammers are at it again by offering fake Chick-fil-A gift baskets to Facebook users. The post was first published by a man who claimed that his name was Travis Porter and that he is a regional manager for Chick-fil-A. Upon further inspection, the Facebook post does sound too good to be true. It tells readers that the fast food chain is celebrating its 61st anniversary and is giving every person who likes and shares the post a gift basket "containing a $35 Chick-fil-A gift card plus surprises that will make your heart flutter." Not true. As Snopes pointed out, the first clue is that the brand is actually 74-years-old, not 61.
A Chick-fil-A representative confirmed that this is indeed a scam. "We are working with Facebook to have the post removed," they said. The brand also took to Facebook with a post that clarified that this is a hoax. "We're aware of a fake and inappropriate flyer that is circulating the web right now. We can assure you that this was not created or distributed by any Chick-fil-A Restaurant or any of its independent Operators," the post read.
In case you're curious, anyone who does click on the link in the post ends up on a page with a photo of the fake gift basket and a button that asks them to validate their entry. If you click on that button, you simply end up on a broken website. Shady.