Fake Kindle Giveaways on Facebook

Have you seen a Facebook page giving away Kindle Fires because they have unopened boxes that can’t be sold? It’s a scam. Liking, sharing, and commenting on it will only create more spam and scams on Facebook.

Earlier in 2013 we saw a surge in fake giveaways on Facebook, and today a reader has tipped us off to the newest of the bunch: Fake Kindle Fire giveaways. One recent version states:

We have 2839 Kind Fire’s which can’t be sold because they’re unsealed so we are giving them out for free to some lucky people.

Want to get one? Just “Share” this photo then like our page.

Competition ends on the 28th of May 2013, Good luck. – Amazon

Fake Giveaway

These fake giveaway pages often pop up, claim to be giving away a product (in this case a Kindle Fire), amass a large amount of likes, and then disappear. Over the past few months, the pitch has been that there are “unsealed” products which can’t be sold, so they are giving them away. It’s completely bogus.

• There is no giveaway
• These pages are not sponsored by Amazon or any official entity
• The page will typically disappear within days
• Most users don’t bother to check the validity of the page before liking, sharing, and commenting.

It should also be noted that such giveaways are in violation of the Facebook terms of service:

You must not use Facebook features or functionality as a promotion’s registration or entry mechanism. For example, the act of liking a Page or checking in to a Place cannot automatically register or enter a promotion participant.

Why Do It?

We are constantly asked why someone would go through the bother of creating a fake giveaway at all. We tend to quote this Yahoo UK article which covers it quite nicely. In the article, we read that these fake giveaway pages are worth approximately $200 per 100,000 likes. Whoever purchases this Facebook page will change the name and erase all evidence of the fake giveaway. They will then have an built-in “fan” base of 100,000 people. It’s becoming rampant on Facebook.

Bottom Line

Amazon isn’t giving away free Kindle Fires on Facebook. Liking or sharing pages such as these will only fuel more scams on Facebook.

If you’ve seen one of these giveaways, drop us a link to the page in the comments below.