Daily Mirror reports on Parliament Street uncovering a fake Cadbury’s Facebook scam

Monday 9th November 2020

Today, the Daily Mirror reported on Parliament Street uncovering an an unscrupulous scam competition offering free chocolate.

Read the article here, or alternatively the text of it is below:

‘Free’ Cadbury’s chocolate hamper warning as thousands of sweet-toothed Brits tricked

The idea of a hamper of free Twirls, Curly Wurlys and Dairy Milk bars is is a tempting one – but people looking to win something for nothing could end up being stung for thousands.

Fraud experts are warning sweet-toothed Brits to steer clear of what looks certain to be a scam competition offering free chocolate.

Researchers at Parliament Street uncovered a dodgy Facebook Group called “Cadbury Rewards” with a message from someone calling themselves “Anna Burton” claiming to be a regional manager at the chocolate company.

The post claims Cadbury’s is offering the giveaway to celebrate its 126th birthday, but almost everything about it is wrong.

First, Cadbury’s is 196 years old, second researchers found no records found for “Anna Burton” at the firm.

The advert was posted on Facebook over the weekend and by Sunday 8th November had over 1,700 ‘likes’ and hundreds of comments.

Additionally, there is absolutely no mention of the competition or the anniversary on Cadbury’s official UK Facebook page.

The fake post on Facebook luring people in (Image: Facebook)

But the convincing message – which is accompanied by an image of a woman clutching a hamper of chocolate including Twirls, Curly Wurlys and Dairy Milk – has seen Brits taken in in the droves.

On Sunday the fake post had more than 1,700 likes and hundreds of comments.

One Facebook commented: “I work for the Royal Derby Hospital on a ward caring for the elderly, we are a Covid ward again, all the staff work so hard, it would be lovely to win one of these and share with the staff.”

Another wrote saying she’d like a hamper to go to her elderly friend who carried on working to support patients affected by Covid-19:  “She’s just retired from the NHS where she has worked for 43 years… but she’s stayed on as she felt like she couldn’t go.”

Worse, people signing up are directed to a fake website using Cadbury branding asking people to enter their name, home address, phone number, email address and bank card details to be eligible.

A Mondelēz International spokesperson for Cadbury’s said: “We’ve been made aware of a circulating post on social media, claiming to offer consumers a hamper of free Cadbury products.

“We can confirm that this has not been generated by Mondelēz and would urge the general public to not interact or share personal information through the post.

“The security of our customers is our priority and we’re working with the relevant organisations to ensure this is resolved.”

Andy Heather, a cyber security expert at Centrify, said: “With the Christmas season fast approaching, it’s no surprise that hackers are attempting to lure lockdown-weary members of the public into handing over their bank details and passwords with the promise of chocolate hampers and tasty treats.

“This is the latest in a series of scams whereby social media platforms are being used to elevate awareness and spread the fraud, hijacking official branding and making use of photos and testimonials to fool victims.”

He added: “We urge all members of the public to remain vigilant against these phishing attacks and always double check that an apparently sweet deal isn’t going to leave a bitter aftertaste.”

Comments are closed.