By REBECCA RUTHERFORD
Los Alamos

Watch out for the Facebook grocery giveaway scams- making the rounds once again online. What are these scams? Basically, they post in a Facebook group, offering free groceries like the ones below.

In the recent examples I’ve seen in local Facebook groups that advertised grocery distribution events — but with no listed location, organizer, or contact information- clearly a red flag. No contact info or location info should ring some mental alarm bells; this seems sketchy right away.

What’s the point of these scams? Most of the time it seems just to funnel the user to join a scammy Facebook group, where it is probably easier to harvest your personal and financial information than the general Facebook population. In some cases, I’ve seen links, which likely go to personal and financial info stealing sites.

When watching for Facebook phishing scams, experts recommend looking for signs such as:

• Posts or messages that urge you to act quickly or pressure you to click a link.
• Offers that seem too good to be true, especially without verifiable details like locations or contact info.
• Links with suspicious or unusual web addresses.
• Requests for personal information, login credentials, or financial details.

If you believe you have fallen victim to a phishing scam, you are advised to:

• Immediately change your Facebook and associated email passwords.
• Review your account activity for unauthorized access and log out of all devices.
• Alert your bank or financial institutions if you shared sensitive information.
• Report the scam to Facebook and any relevant authorities.

The best advice I can give you here is that if it seems too good to be true, it is! If a post is “giving away” groceries, but there is no info as to where or when, just a link to another Facebook group, or webpage, it’s a scam. This is not how legitimate charities give away food. Just be aware these scams are out there, and stay away from the fakes, Legitimate food banks will have their own Facebook pages, and websites, and will offer info on the post as to the next giveaway day and time. Stay safe online and think before you click.

Grocery giveaway scam on the left, often has a link that leads to a page like that on the right. Courtesy/Rebecca Rutherford