Facebook fans are being warned about a fake holiday voucher doing the rounds in the run-up to Christmas.
Tens of thousands of Facebook users have already been tricked by scammers promising a free Christmas holiday.
The Facebook post claims 30 people who share, like or comment on it would scoop the free prize.
The Facebook scam promises users a free holiday to Center Parcs and shows a picture of golden envelopes allegedly containing the complimentary passes.
However, as the old adage goes – if something seems too good to be true that something probably is too good to be true.
Instead of the Facebook post being a sign of Christmas coming early it’s simply a way for cybercriminals to spread malicious content.
Wiltshire Trading Standards has alerted Facebook users about the scam as have police in the area.
In a statement they said: “We’ve noticed lots of people sharing posts to win a Center Parcs holiday.
“This is a page set up by scammers for ‘like-farming’ and no one EVER wins a prize.
“Like farming is a technique used by scammers to get many likes and shares.
“Once enough have been obtained they will edit the post and may add something malicious such as malware or will strip back the original content and fill your page with spam.
“These pages can also harvest personal information Facebook holds about you.”
They added that 29,000 Facebook users have liked the page sharing the fake holiday voucher offer.
Advising users how to stay safe online, Wiltshire Trading Standards said: “Before sharing these posts take some time to check the page is genuine.
“Check out the page in full. A genuine business will have a small blue tick next to their name to show the page has been verified.
“How far back to the posts on their page go? This page was only set up 8 hours ago. The genuine Center Parcs page goes back years.
“How many likes do they have. The genuine Center Parcs UK page currently has over 369,000.
“This page currently only has 29,000. But that’s over 29,000 who have all put their personal information at risk in only 8 hours!”
Last Christmas Express.co.uk also warned Facebook users about another scam that was being circulated on the social networking site.
The Christmas con revolved around the ‘Secret Sister’ scam which tried to get people to purchase a gift for a stranger.
The chain letter con claimed if Facebook users purchased a gift worth $10 (£7) for a stranger they would get up to 36 presents back in return.
It was allegedly part of the ‘Secret Sister’ Christmas gift exchange.
But it was all just a pyramid scheme, where people only profit by recruiting more people in the scam.
The Better Business Bureau in America at the time warned Facebook users to stay away from any ‘Secret Sister’ posts as it’s an “illegal scam”.
In a post online they said: “While gift exchanges grow in popularity during the holiday season, BBB advises consumers to use caution when choosing one in which to participate.”
The BBB added: “This is a typical pyramid scheme. This is on Facebook instead of the old way of using letters because social media allows it to spread a lot faster.
“Pyramid schemes are illegal either by mail or on social media if money or other items of value are requested with assurance of a sizeable return for those who participate.”