Tuesday, December 27, 2011

That Offer for a $100 Gift Card to TGI Fridays Is NOT Real

TGI FridaysIf you’re like me, you’d probably enjoy a free meal or two at TGI Friday’s.

Sadly, following the offer for a free $100 gift card to TGI Friday’s on Facebook is not the way to get one.

Cybercriminals have launched yet another survey scam campaign on Facebook; this time they’re conning people into filling out a never-ending list of surveys and completing multiple reward offers by promising them a $100 TGI Friday’s gift card in return.

The scam begins by the victim encountering a message similar to this:
Eat a TGI Friday’s for FREE! (limited time only)

TGI Friday’s is currently giving away $100.00 gift cards to all facebook users!!

 TGI Fridays Facebook Scam: Spam Message


The e-crook uses a variety of domains in order to promote the scam. Some of the domains involved include:

  • best-names.info

  • supercards.info

  • bit.ly/s2lcvA


Upon clicking the link, you’re taken to a page that requests you help keep the scam alive by posting it to your profile and liking it. The scammers are hoping that your Facebook friends will be eager to follow in your virtual footsteps to make sure they don’t miss out on such a “great opportunity”.

TGI Fridays Facebook Scam: Share on Facebook


After completing the alleged “first” and “final” steps on the page, you will be redirected to yet another site (foodrewardsonline.com) that boasts the same offer, only this time you have to enter your email address.

TGI Fridays Facebook Scam: Enter your emailOf course, this is only the beginning, as the footer of this page clearly states that you must fill out user surveys, complete a total of 6 “reward offers” and meet whatever other crazy requirements that they decide to throw at you.

Here’s an excerpt from the terms:

3) Complete the user surveys; 4) Complete the following reward offers: 2 Silver, 2 Gold, and 2 Platinum offers (Available reward offers will vary. Some reward offers require a purchase. Credit card offers may require you to activate the card by making a purchase, transferring a balance or taking a cash advance.

If you dare to go past this step, you will be taken to what is assumed to be their registration page, which insists you provide an assortment of personal information like your name, address, birthday and two telephone numbers. I’m surprised they don’t ask for a copy of your driver’s license, birth certificate or social security card at this point.
TGI Fridays Facebook Scam: Provide all of your information
Let’s not forget that a $100 gift card to TGI Friday’s was the entire reason we bothered to click this link. Is your identity worth a $100 gift card? Granted, TGI Friday’s has great food, but it’s not hand-over-my-personal-information-to-a-crook great.

And that’s assuming you’ll actually get it once you meet all of the scammer’s demands.

How to Deal with the $100 TGI Friday’s Gift Card Scam


If you come across this scam on Facebook, it's strongly recommended that you:

  1. Remove any trace of this scam from your Facebook profile, which means you will need to delete the Wall post and page like history.

  2. Warn your family and friends to steer clear of any “special offers” for a $100 TGI Friday’s gift card or any other free gift cards. There are a lot of survey scams out there. (Check the ‘Related Posts’ links at the bottom of this article and see what scams have been circulating on Facebook recently.)


If you provided your personal information, be on the lookout for future scams or spam messages that may be delivered via email or snail mail. Also watch for suspicious charges on your mobile phone as scammers often subscribe victims to expensive SMS subscriptions.

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