Well, the scammers never seem to take a break on Facebook, and right now they’re striking extra hard while everyone’s hunkered down at home and spending a lot of time on the Internet.
Scammers love to strike during special events and holidays because they know that many of us have our guard down during those times.
Every year at this time the insidious “Lowe’s Mother’s Day Coupon Scam” starts making the rounds again, and it’s back for 2020. This is how it works:
1 – You’re browsing your Facebook newsfeed and you see a very realistic-looking, but fake coupon offering $50 off your next purchase at Lowes in honor of Mother’s Day.
Here’s a screenshot of the fake coupon that’s making the rounds this year:
2 – If you click on the coupon you’ll be taken to what appears to be a page on the Lowes website containing a sign-up form.
Unfortunately, both the web page and the sign-up form are very realistic looking knockoffs that are actually nothing more than a phishing ploy like the ones typically linked to from fraudulent emails.
3 – If you fill out the sign-up form your information won’t be delivered to Lowes. It will actually end up in the hands of a scammer, putting you at risk of identity theft and other malicious activities.
Bottom line: If one of these fake Lowes coupons shows up on your Facebook newsfeed, don’t click on the coupon or interact with the post in any way. Instead, click on the down-arrow in the top-right corner of the post box and report it.
You might also want to message the friend who shared the fake coupon in the first place to let them know they have fallen victim to a scam (if they indeed filled out the fraudulent form).
That way they can keep an eye on their bank and credit card accounts and credit reports for fraudulent activity.
And always remember: If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is. And if you see it on social media, you can count on it being a scam pretty much every time.