Homebase Branding Used In Social Media Scam

Scammers have been using the Homebase brand and the CEO's name to extract personal and financial data from unsuspecting social media users.

The scam, which was discovered in early November by Parliament Street, used a Facebook page named @UKHomebase to promote competitions purporting to be from the Homebase home improvement chain.

The page used an image of a man - not CEO Damian McGloughlin - holding golden envelopes displaying the Homebase logo.  Accompanying the image was a message saying, “Hello everyone, we have a Christmas surprise for you all! I’m Damian McGloughlin, CEO of Homebase and on November 28th I’ll be giving these 25 golden envelopes away to 25 people who share and comment. Each golden envelope contains £500 to spend at Homebase.”

Readers were asked to like and share the post in order to win the prize.

The latest post on the page - dated 18th November - features images of kitchens and the wording, "Go here (with a phishing link) for the opportunity to get a brand new Homebase kitchen! Good luck!"  

The post has hundreds of comments and, at the time of writing, the fake page has over 5,000 likes and followers.  

Source : Insight DIY Team

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