JOHANNESBURG - British Airways has stated that they are not giving away free tickets as a hoax message doing the rounds on social media suggests.
Luane Lavery, Brand communication manager for British Airways told Business Report that a message doing the rounds on social media which states that British Airways is giving away two free tickets is fake.
The message reads:
*_British Airways_* is celebrating its 70th anniversary by giving away 2 free air tickets to 200 lucky customers. *Click below link to claim yours now and fly with _British Airways_*
When Business Report contacted Lavery about the message, she said, “We are aware of the chain messages that are being circulated via social media. We can confirm that it is a hoax. British Airways is not involved in any give away."
The post invites you to click on a link to claim your 'free' tickets. If you click on the post, you will be taken to a fraudulent web page and told that you must follow two simple steps to get your British Airways tickets.
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After carrying out these steps, you can click a button labelled ‘get your free first class tickets’. Clicking the button opens another fake page that appears to allow you to claim your tickets. However, a popup window that obscures the claim form informs you that you must verify your entry by filling in one or more surveys. The popup contains a list of survey links for you to choose from. The links open various third-party survey web pages that are intent on getting your personal information.
Lavery concluded, "The public should be advised not to share or distribute the link,”