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‘Shoprite’ giveaway during Covid-19 outbreak a scam

A Facebook post claims Shoprite, a supermarket chain with a footprint in 15 African countries, is giving away food and gadgets during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Posted on 26 March 2020 in Mombasa, Kenya to a public Facebook group with over 2 million members, the post reads: “Many people stopped working because of this virus outbreak throughout the world, we create this platform to hep many people on food, here is a chance for you to get various foods /Garget from us.”

The food and gadgets on offer include “100K, 5 bags of rice/beans, 5 cartons of Turkey / Chicken, IPhone, laptops, 10 crates of eggs or other foods.”

Users are asked to choose whatever they want to have it shipped to their address.

“Just tell us 1 or 2 food/gadget stuff you need and it shall be yours within 1 hour,” the post reads. Its message also appears on other Facebook pages.

But is it true? We checked.



‘Scam alert’


The post’s poor grammar and spelling raises a red flag. This would not be expected in communication associated with a major brand. 

Shoprite Kenya has posted a warning on its official Facebook page that the quarantine giveaway is a scam.

“SCAM ALERT: Please be aware of a current scam message regarding a Shoprite quarantine giveaway. Please note this is a scam and is not related to any of our campaigns,” the post reads.

“Always remain aware of any possible scams, and never give your details to an unknown third party. Check our official pages and website for our competitions.” – Grace Gichuhi




 

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