For years, pages have been popping up on Facebook that claim to be representatives of well-known brands and advertise fake competitions. There is also one such page currently. Under the name “Action fans,” it claims to belong to the discounter Action. It supposedly gives away cash, cell phones, vouchers and gift bags to all users who under the post to congratulate him on his birthday. At the time of publication, over 500 people had responded to this call.
Cell phones, gift bags and cash. These are the prizes that a fake site is advertising for the alleged Action competition (Source: Facebook; Screenshot: CORRECTIV.Faktencheck)
But there is nothing to win in such raffles; it is a scam with the aim of stealing personal data. The page is one of many that all have similar names and use the same scam, as we have already explained in previous fact checks (for example here, here and here). The Facebook page has nothing to do with the discounter, which can be seen from several clues.
Facebook page has only a few followers, no imprint and was only recently created
The competition page has only around 200 followers – in contrast to the three million the original page by Action – and the competition is the only published post on the profile. The competition page also lacks the blue tick, the so-called Verification BadgeThis allows public figures and organizations to confirm the authenticity of their Facebook pages. real side of action has this badge, as is common for companies of this size on Facebook.
The fake page was only created in June 2024, less than two months before the start of the competition. The page lacks a contact person and conditions of participation for the competition. The page also does not have an imprint, although this is required for Facebook pages of companies in Germany. is mandatory.
With a Reverse image search After one of the pictures from the competition, there are numerous posts on Facebook that use the picture for the same scam. Among them are several other supposed action fan pages, as well as imitations of Lindt, Netto and Walmart. But the original source of the picture can also be found above it: It shows a donation board for food from a US church community.
The post suggests that these bags contain the prizes from the competition. But they actually contain food donations prepared by a church organization in the USA. (Source: Foodpantries.org)
Another image from the post, showing several people standing behind the bags, has been circulating since at least 2023. The bags also bear the logo of the US supermarket chain Walmart.
There is no competition on the official Action website
Action informs on its official website about current competitionsAt the time of publication, the alleged competition from “Actions fans” cannot be found here. The discounter itself warns on a service page about the fake competitions and advises against taking part in them. This is not a real competition from Action.
What’s behind the competitions?
But what are the posts about then? To participate in the alleged game, users must first comment on the post. the post gets more reach and is more likely to be shown to other people on the platform. For previous fact checks, we have commented on such posts on a trial basis – after this, you usually receive a message in Facebook Messenger with a link to a website.
You are asked to enter your personal information such as your name, email address or telephone number. This means that the supposed competition has fulfilled its purpose: the personal data can be passed on or sold. In the past, data from this scam ended up with a company that wanted to sell newspaper subscriptions using unsolicited advertising calls.
This is how you can recognize dubious Facebook pages:
- Is the Facebook profile verified with a blue tick?
- Is there an imprint?
- Is the number of followers at a credible level for the popularity of a brand or person?
- What kind of posts are published on the Facebook profile?
- When was the site created?
Edited by: Viktor Marinov, Matthias Bau
