“$50,000 Facebook reward” leads to surveys and other scams

If you receive an email or a message on your Facebook account purportedly sent by the social network and telling you that you have won $50,000, ignore it completely and delete it instantly.

The message is very simple:

CONGRATULATIONS

Your $50,000.00 reward on Facebook. Please CONFIRM YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS HERE:

Thanks,

FB Instant Winners

As inviting as the offer may seem, it means only trouble. If you follow the link you’ll end up on a “prize” website where you will first be asked to share your email address and then to complete a few surveys in order to qualify for a free gift voucher.

“The supposed $50,000 prize is not mentioned again after the initial scam email. This promised prize is simply the bait used to trick the unwary into clicking the link in the bogus message. Nor will users ever receive the promised gift voucher no matter how many surveys or offers they participate in,” says Hoax-Slayer.

What you may get is a subscription to some very expensive SMS services if you shared your mobile number, and you’ll likely get inundated with promotional emails, phone calls and mail in the future.