Beware of this Christmas scam on Facebook

Facebook is most popular social media platform and to take advantage of its popularity there are several scams and hoaxes always circulating around. Some of them come as profile viewer apps, celebrity death hoaxes, and free iPhone/Samsung offers. There is always some threat, and we should be careful and look out for such scams on Facebook.

Having said that a new scam has appeared on Facebook. While Christmas is meant to be the time of giving, but con artists are capitalizing on that in a cynical scam on Facebook, Express.co.uk has reported. As such users might have to use caution before participating in any gift exchange programme on Facebook.

A Christmas con called "Secret Sister Gift Exchange" is doing the rounds on social media to take advantage of people's generosity during the festive season, warns a report. The online scheme as reported claims that participants will receive gifts in exchange for sending one gift valued at $10.

Further, the typical pyramid scheme claims that if a consumer purchases one gift for a stranger, he/she will receive as many as 36 gifts in return. However, starting this gift exchange comes with a catch, users will need to disclose their personal information, such as your home address.

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) in America, a non-profit focused on advancing marketplace trust, earlier warned that the exchange has been circulating on social media sites. This is on Facebook instead of the old way of using letters because social media allows it to spread a lot faster, the BBB said in its advisory. "To avoid this scam, the best thing to do is completely ignore it altogether. Do not give out personal information to anyone," it said.

Inputs from IANS