Promotions on Facebook for £2 PlayStation consoles at Argos are fake

Posts on Facebook are claiming to be offering PlayStation 5 consoles for less than £2 from Argos. But the offers are not genuine. 

One of the posts appears on a Facebook page with only three followers and claims the consoles were used in “demo presentations”. The other fake offer is posted by a page that has 27 followers and claims the consoles were formerly used at “trade shows”.  

Both posts show photos of PlayStation 5 boxes in a store with an Argos sign advertising the consoles for £1.78. 

A spokesperson for Argos told Full Fact that: “These are not genuine offers.

One of the posts says: “Click the button and visit our website to order”. But the link goes to a webpage that looks like Argos but doesn’t have the official Argos web address and the other buttons on the page don’t work.

The page asks users to fill out questions and complete a task before going to a payment page to pay £1.78 and claim the console. But the small print confirms this is actually entering users into a “contest” where one winner will be selected for every 600 participants. It says that users will be signed up to a subscription service that automatically deducts money from their account following a five day free trial. 

The other post also directs users to a different website. The link goes to what appears to be an article published by American broadcaster NPR about a shortage in PlayStation 5 consoles being “finally over”. 

While the article does genuinely exist, and was published on the official NPR website in January 2023, this page doesn’t have an official NPR web address and many of the links on the page don’t work. The page has no mention of the discounted console advertised in the post.

These types of posts are extremely common on social media. Full Fact has written recently about another similar fake offer promoting cheap PlayStation 5 consoles at Argos, as well as fake promotions on other Argos products such as air fryers or electric scooters. 

We have also seen fake promotions for free meals at restaurant chain Toby Carvery and Harvester, as well as fake motorhome giveaways. 

It is always worth checking posts sharing offers that seem too good to be true. One way to verify this is to see whether the offer has been shared by the company’s official page—this will often have more followers, a verified blue tick and a longer post history.

Image courtesy of Mtaylor848