Facebook ads falsely promise Amazon discounts

"2023 Super Value Mystery Box. Full of surprises $29.97 Amazon pallets," says a July 14, 2023 Facebook post from an "Amazon Pallets dealer" page.

"Over 300 pallets for a limited time! Only sell 2 weeks out of the year."

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Screenshot of a Facebook post taken August 10, 2023

Similar posts have circulated on other Facebook pages labeled as "Amazon Inventory."

But the ads are not associated with the company.

"The pallets in the online social posts referenced are not sold directly by Amazon," said Kristina Pressentin, a spokesperson for the retail giant, in an August 9 email.

"Scammers that attempt to impersonate Amazon put consumers at risk... We encourage consumers to report suspected scams to us so that we can protect their accounts and refer bad actors to law enforcement to help keep consumers safe."

The retail giant has information on its website on how to identify and report scams using the company's name (archived here and here).

John Breyault, vice president of public policy, telecommunications and fraud at the National Consumers League, reviewed the posts and told AFP the websites promoted in the ads "have every indication of being fraudulent."

For example, Breyault said the links "do not direct visitors to listings for special 'pallets' or 'mystery boxes,'" as the posts claim.

"Instead, they direct visitors to rather generic-looking eCommerce websites that seem designed to harvest consumers' credit card information rather than delivering any kind of actual product," he said. "Consumers would be wise to avoid clicking on links like these."

Jay Mayfield, a senior public affairs specialist at the Federal Trade Commission, advised consumers to search for a company's name with keywords such as "scam" or "complaint" before purchasing something from an ad on social media.

AFP has previously debunked other deceptive offers and ads here, here and here.