Samsung latest phone maker to be drawn into Facebook giveaway scam

  • This article is more than one year old.
  • Published on July 21, 2020 at 18:45
  • Updated on July 31, 2020 at 15:19
  • 3 min read
  • By Amanuel NEGUEDE, AFP Ethiopia

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A post shared thousands of times on Facebook in Africa claims to represent Samsung in the latest free phone promotion targeting students. This is yet another scam:  there is no trace of this offer on Samsung’s official social media pages and the South Korean tech giant told AFP Fact Check it had no ties to the give-away. 

“SAMSUNG HOT GIVE AWAY FOR STUDENTS,” reads the post. “Congratulations to our previous 30,000 students, who got their phone this morning. Here is another chance for another set of 60,000 people to win brand new samsung new Phones. Win brand new samsung phone of your choice today (sic).”

Archived here, the post has racked up more than 10,000 shares and seen thousands of interactions since June 27, 2020. Similar claims were also shared on Facebook groups in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, and Malawi.

Screenshot of scam on Facebook, taken July 20, 2020

However, this page is a bogus account and unrelated to Samsung, which has 120 million likes on its official Facebook page. An email response from the company’s headquarters to AFP Fact Check said that “the event is not related to Samsung”.

How does the scam work?

Facebook users are asked to type “Samsung” in the comment section below the post. 

Once this is done, users are instructed to send a direct message with their contact details, including an address, to receive their free phone.

Screenshot of scam publication on Facebook, taken on July 20, 2020

Fake website

The page transparency information provided by Facebook shows that the bogus page was created with the name “AngelBozy.com” on October 25, 2016, and then changed to “Saamsung electr0nic pr0m0 com” on May 24, 2020.

Screenshot of Facebook transparency page of scam, taken on July 20, 2020

Another interesting detail about the bogus account is that it is managed from Nigeria, a country not listed in the page transparency section for Samsung.

Facebook page transparency for Samsung, taken July 20, 2020

A web address in the bogus page’s “About” section redirects to a broken link.

AFP Fact Check also called the Nigerian number listed as a contact but it appeared to have been disconnected.

Screenshot of scam Facebook ‘About’ section, taken July 20, 2020

AFP Fact Check has published other debunks (here and here) linked to similar scams, which claim to offer gifts under the guise of official promotions in order to boost their followers on Facebook. 

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