Posts showing disgruntled Woolworths staff disclosing secret discount are a scam
- Published on February 9, 2026 at 09:16
- 4 min read
- By Tendai DUBE, AFP South Africa
Woolworths is a South African department store chain known for its high-end food offerings. Facebook posts circulating in January 2026 claim to show sacked staff telling the public how to secure a special discount on meat. However, the posts are a scam; images of the former workers depicted in the posts are also AI-generated.
“Woolworths can go get stuffed! After ten years of working my guts out for them, I was fired this week. Why? All because of my political views!” reads a Facebook post published on January 27, 2026.
The post features images of a woman making a crude gesture outside a Woolworths store, and boxes of packed meat.
“If you’re over 40, you can get a Woolworths meat box with a mix of cuts and steaks for just R200 (approx. $13),” adds the post. “All you have to do is answer a few simple questions, and they’ll send the box as a thank-you.”
A link included in the comments directs users to the purported offer.
Variations of the posts include one with a different woman and another with a “short customer survey”.
Woolworths is a large retailer that sells food, clothing and everyday essentials.
However, the posts linking the company to a secret discount are a hoax.
‘Concerning scam’
AFP Fact Check found no evidence of the purported offer on the Woolworths website, where such deals are typically found.
Instead, a keyword search led to a January 6, 2026, Facebook post by Woolworths, dismissing the claims as a “concerning scam” (archived here).
“The scammers share a link beginning with a survey, and ending with a request for card details - the URL redirects to different websites with each click,” the retailer said.
“The posts promoting this scam feature doctored images of Woolworths branding, and even have fake comments.”
Despite the warning, similar hoax posts continue to circulate on Facebook.
Some people replying on the Woolworths Facebook account say they have fallen for the scam.
Notably, unlike earlier posts, which redirected users to a survey soliciting banking information, the latest scam posts now lead users to a 2023 review of a genuine meat delivery service called ButcherBox, which distributes across the United States (archived here).
Fabricated images
All the meat images in the posts are unrealistically identical, a sign that they were artificially generated.
Analyses using the AI detection tool Hive Moderation found a likelihood of more than 95 percent that they are AI-generated.
Results of similar analyses for the images of the women and most of the pictures associated with these Facebook profiles also point to almost certain AI generation.
Furthermore, the Facebook profiles spreading these claims all published their first posts in January 2026 and use common South African names.
To appear even more legitimate, the posts include comments purportedly from other Facebook users claiming to have received their discounted meat.
“There are honestly loads of steaks in the box, and all for under R200. Thanks for sharing - plenty to cook for the kids over the holidays,” reads a comment published on January 27, 2026.
However, a reverse image search of the photo included in the comment found that it was taken from a Facebook post published in 2025 to promote a family-owned butcher delivery service in Illinois, United States (archived here).
The South African consumer-targeted Facebook posts appear to be part of a similar scam circulating in Australia, here and here.
Woolworths published a statement on January 29, 2026, saying that they were working with Meta, the company that owns Facebook, to remove the fraudulent posts (archived here).
“Woolworths’ cybersecurity and social media teams are actively reporting and escalating each fraudulent post as it appears,” it reads. “Meta, the parent company of Facebook, is aware of the scam and is committed to assisting in removing posts.”
Woolworths also advised customers to double-check the accuracy of the website link, be wary of deals that seem too good to be true, and contact the company directly to verify any suspicious promotions.
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