Cincinnati-based grocery store Kroger warned its customers of a Christmas giveaway hoax making the rounds on social media.
The hoax appears to be a social media post from an account disguising itself as Kroger under the name Kroger.com, though the official name of Kroger’s real Facebook page is simply “Kroger.”
Kroger responded to the hoax post in a Tuesday tweet, saying, “This is a fake Kroger Facebook page. We are aware of this fraudulent page and are working to address this matter. We recommend not engaging with the posting, and we appreciate your patronage.”
@kroger this has been going around on Facebook. Scam? pic.twitter.com/z76vSKcoA6
— Autumn Shrader ❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️ (@Whoop101) December 21, 2019
The fake post describes a giveaway and encourages users to click on a link to a website that is not affiliated with Kroger.
“To celebrate Christmas this year we are giving a special gift of an entire year of free groceries for four lucky families that share/comment by 5 p.m. on Saturday! Best of luck and happy holidays!” the post reads.
The post then links to a website unaffiliated with Kroger and tells users to click the link to “verify” their entries.
Wholesale retailer Costco issued a similar warning in November after social media post scammed shoppers into signing up for a $75 coupon giveaway.