You may have seen it in your news feed: Share this post and get a free Christmas box of groceries from Aldi! Sounds too good to be true, right?

That’s because it is.

No, Aldi is not giving away free groceries to people who like and share the post. Sorry. It’s just a scam.

If you dig a little deeper, you’ll notice the post in question originated from a page just created on November 28, 2020. Now, if Aldi were really giving away free groceries, it would probably come from their verified social media accounts, NOT from a page just created.

Also, this isn’t the first time the Aldi scam has made the social media rounds. There was one in 2019. And there have been similar scams before.

The current scam features this photo:

And is accompanied by the following caption:

My name is Jason Hart and I’m the CEO of ALDI Inc. To celebrate our 75th Birthday, Every single person who shaᴦes and comments by 3 PM Sunday will get one of these Christmas Food Box delivered straight to their door on Monday 30th November. Each Food box contains groceries worth $75 and a $25 ALDI voucher.

So why would someone bother to create a page and start this scam in the first place?

According to the Better Business Bureau:

…[W]hen the scammer collects enough likes and shares, they will edit the post and could add something malicious, such as a link to a website that downloads malware to your machine. Other times, once scammers reach their target number of likes, they strip the page’s original content and use it to promote spammy products. They may also resell the page on the black market. These buyers can use it to spam followers or harvest the information Facebook provides.

Thankfully, there are ways to protect yourself from like-farming scams:

• Use your good judgement. If a post says you can win something just by sharing the post, it’s probably not true. If a post tugs at your heartstrings and isn’t about someone you know personally, be wary about the truthfulness of its contents.
• Don’t click “like” on every post in your feed. Scammers are counting on getting as many mindless likes as possible, so be sure you only “like” posts and articles that are legitimate. Don’t help scammers spread their con.
• Be cautious when it comes to sharing your personal information. Never give out personal information, such as your full name, telephone number, address, etc. to a person or company you don’t know or trust.
• Update your web browser. Make sure you always have the latest version of your browser. That way, if you do accidentally click on a scammer’s post, your browser will be more likely to warn you about suspicious sites.
• Look for the blue checkmark. Many social media platforms verify pages from brands and celebrities so that users can decipher real pages versus copycats. Make sure you look for that trust mark before liking and sharing content.

If you’ve fallen victim to this or other like-farming scams, delete your post, remove your like, and offer a friendly warning to other friends and family who share it.

It’s disappointing to learn something so good could be so wrong. But it’s important not to further the scam and to keep yourself and those you love safe.