Centre Parcs Facebook scam

Police are warning of a new Facebook scam claiming to give away Center Parcs holidays.

Users of social media are being encouraged to share a post to win a Center Parcs holiday – but it is not a genuine page, having been set up by scammers for ‘like-farming’.

Scammers use this technique to get ‘likes’ and ‘shares’, then edit the post, adding malicious malware, that can fill your page with spam. The pages can also harvest personal information Facebook shares about you.

A Center Parcs spokesman said: “We are aware of a page on Facebook offering the chance to win a Center Parcs break, this is not a genuine page. “Please do not enter your details or share the page. “Genuine pages have a small tick next to the name and this shows the page is verified.”

The scam, initially offered free trips to the Center Parcs site at Longleat in Wiltshire but similar posts for the site at Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire are now being reported.

Police said: “Before sharing these posts take some time to check the page is genuine: – check out the page in full. Most large genuine businesses will have a small tick next to their name to show the page has been verified. The page was only set up 8 hours ago whereas the genuine Center Parcs page goes back years. The genuine Center Parcs UK page currently has over 369,000 ‘likes’. This scam page around 29,000 – but that’s over 29,000 who have all put their personal information at risk in only 8 hours!”