Free Airline Tickets Scam

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Free Airline Tickets Scam

The messages are being left on people's walls as though they are from Facebook friends.

“Aweet! i just got 2 free flight vouchers from Southwest Air to fly to any destination i can think of lmao!,” one message says. “i didnt believe it would work but it was, got it here..[LINK] try for yourself i just figured i would share with everyone.”

The fact is Southwest isn't giving away any free tickets. If you fall for the scam and click on the link, you will be taken to a site that appears to be the official Southwest site, but is actually a fake site set up by the scammer.

When you get to the site, you'll be asked to allow installation of third-party software to allow you to register for the tickets. If you agree, you will download malware that can access your profile and post messages from your account.

A variation of the scam leads you through a maze of multiple surveys, resulting in no tickets for your efforts. Southwest alerted customers through social media Monday, warning them of the fraud.

The scams have a common theme and every few weeks resurface with a slight variation.

Last month the hot Facebook scam was the promise of free giftcards from Starbucks. It read along the lines of “Facebook Users!, Starbucks is gifting away new giftcards! Rush, Dont waste any time. Here is webpage (link) There just 241 left!!!

The rest of the scam is pretty much the same and entices you into downloading an application that gives the scammer access to your Facebook account.

According to Softpedia.com, a recent bust by the FBI showed a cybercrook gang took in $14 million off a similar scam.

Remember - always watch for scams!

Steve