Scam Alert: Free iPad Facebook Message

Did you receive a Facebook message from a friend telling you that they received a free iPad? You may want to think twice before clicking the link included in your friend’s message.

There is no free iPad and your friend did not send this message.

This is merely a “rewards” program which requires you to sign up for all sorts of “offers” that you don’t want. Further, these “rewards” programs may require you to purchase something or sign up for credit cards or other offers that you don’t want. The process is designed in a way to make it nearly impossible to complete. The Facebook message did not originate from your friend, but was sent on your friend’s behalf by a malicious Facebook app.

Here is a screen shot of the message we received from a friend:

The message reads:

This is amazing! this website is messing up and giving away ipadhd for free, mine was just delivered this morning! I signed up here (LINK)

We wanted to investigate this message, so we opened the link on one of our test computers. You should NOT click this link. The link took us to a throw-away domain ipadhd33.info, with a rudimentary layout which shows the following:

Congratulations!

Here is your chance to get an Apple iPad HD! Because of the big hype surrounding the new iPad, several companies are giving away chances to get one as soon as they become available!

This is for limited time only so hurry!

To participate Click continue:

When we clicked the “Continue” button, we were taken to the website american-prize-center.com, which then tells us that our “free” iPad can be obtained by taking a survey. If you scroll down to the bottom of the page, however, you’ll see that it’s considerably more involved than simply taking a survey.

*Purchase Requirements. Prizes are split into two tiers: Tier 1 prizes with a value of $100 or less and Tier 2 prizes with a value more than $100. To qualify for a Tier 1 prize you must complete 2 silver, 2 gold, and 3 platinum offers. To qualify for a Tier 2 prize, you must complete 2 silver, 2 gold, and 8 platinum offers. You must complete all offers within one calendar day.

In other words, to qualify for a “free” iPad, you must complete 12 offers – some of which require purchase or filling out credit applications – and you must do them all in one day.

Bottom Line

• The Facebook message did not come from your friend, but was send fraudulently by a malicious Facebook app.
• There is no “free” iPad to be had.
• “Rewards” programs such as this require you to sign up for a host of unwanted or expensive “offers” and the process is nearly impossible to complete as directed.

It’s a scam.

Your Turn

Have you received this Facebook message? Let us hear from you in the comments below.