‘I’m just kicking myself’: How a fake garden seeds offer on Facebook almost cost a Full Fact reader over £500

A Full Fact reader who was fooled by a fake gardening offer on Facebook has told us how the bogus post nearly cost her over £500.

Sandy Hillery, 79, from Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire, contacted us to share her story after reading some of the fact checks we’ve written about fake offers circulating on social media.

Sandy told us that she was tricked by a Facebook post claiming that the home improvement retailer Wickes was offering 96 packs of seeds for just £3.

She said she “took the bait” and attempted to order after seeing the post, only to be contacted by her bank hours later who had stopped two suspicious transactions.

Sandy is a keen gardener, and often sits browsing online in the mornings, having a cup of tea. One Sunday in early February she stumbled across a Facebook post that she said claimed to be from someone who had been queuing for the cashier in Wickes and had heard someone say people can get packs of seeds for free, as long as they pay postage. The Facebook post included a link that would supposedly enable other people to claim the deal.

Sandy told us the wording of the bogus post seemed similar to that of another fake offer for a different retailer which she later read about on our website.

She clicked on the link online and agreed to pay £3 postage because “I thought £3, you know, if I lose that, that’s fine”.

She was then taken through to what appeared to be a page to take payment, but the transaction seemed not to go through. Sandy said she was then told to try a different link. At this point she decided to leave the web page.

Later that day Sandy checked her phone, and saw she had been sent alerts from her bank asking if she had tried to buy something for £91 and £440. It had stopped both transactions and asked her to contact it, which she did straightaway to confirm the payments weren’t genuine.

Although her bank managed to stop the payments, Sandy said she was frustrated at “how stupid I was”.

She added: “I try and be as careful as I can [...] but garden stuff is my weakness and I just couldn’t kick myself enough because it took me about an hour and a quarter [speaking] to the bank Sunday afternoon stopping my card. I’ve had to have a new card and all the rest of it. I’m just kicking myself because it’s so stupid.”

Sandy told us she thought she was “on to a good thing” and now wants “to stop other people being caught in the same way”.

Facebook posts like these are often quickly deleted, and it is hard to track down who is posting them and trace their spread. For this reason, we have been unable to independently verify which post Sandy clicked on, or determine who tried to take her money.

But we have fact checked dozens of Facebook posts touting what are supposedly amazing deals from household name retailers. And while we can’t always say why such fake offers are shared, Sandy’s story serves as a warning to beware of online offers that seem too good to be true.

When we contacted Wickes again about Sandy’s story, it told us: “Any competitions or promotions from Wickes are only ever run through our official social media channels or website… So please be wary of any other posts or links claiming otherwise.”

If you’ve seen an offer on social media from a major retailer which you’re not entirely sure about, always check whether it’s been shared by the company’s official social media accounts. These will often have more followers, a verified blue tick on platforms like Facebook and Instagram, and a longer posting history.

Have you been affected by misinformation or Full Fact’s work? And would you like to share your story? We love to hear from readers - please get in touch via our Contact page.