Capital Wired

Keeps You Updated

Saturday, April 10, 2021
Log in
  • Headlines
  • Business
  • Health
  • Tech & Science
  • Sports
  • World
  • US
  • Latest News
    • How To Make Your Own Home-Brewed Morphine
    • Using Mouthwash Too Often Puts You at Risk of Obesity and Diabetes
    • Walmart to Solve its Supply Chain Issues and Further Cut Down on Costs
    • The World’s Most Expensive Christmas Decorations
    • Netflix Hopes to Balance Data Limit With Great Video Quality
    • Joji Morishita says Japan Will Resume Whaling
    • The Most Beloved Plastic Surgeries Among Americans
    • Skype for Web Allows Non-Users to Take Part In Its Online Chats

Pages

  • About Capital Wired
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy GDPR
  • Reprint & Licensing
  • Staff
  • Terms of Use

Recent Posts

  • Here’s Why Your Brain Keeps Worrying about Everything June 29, 2018
  • Don’t Throw That Sunscreen after Summer Is Up June 29, 2018
  • Analysts: Currency War between U.S. and China Might Be Looming June 28, 2018
  • Starbucks Rival The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Opening 100 Shops June 27, 2018
  • Study Finds We Are Alone in the Universe June 26, 2018
  • Restaurant Owner Not Sorry for Booting Sarah Sanders June 26, 2018
  • Beware of the Hidden Salt in Your Food! June 25, 2018

Don’t Be Duped by Secret Sisters Gift Exchange Facebook Scam

November 8, 2015 By Chen Lai Leave a Comment

Email, RSS Follow

Secret Sisters Gift ExchangeThe “Secret Sisters Gift Exchange”, promising money in exchange for small contributions, is actually a Facebook scam, and shouldn’t be trusted by members of the popular social network.

The post which has become viral in recent days is self-described as a “holiday gift exchange”, but is more evocative of a pyramid scheme. It urges users to send a $10 gift to a stranger, and claims that in return they will receive between 6 and 36 such presents.

Those who fall for the scheme are required to write a comment for the original Facebook post, following which they get a a private message in order to become familiar with the whole set of instructions.

This usually contains a name list: the gift has to be delivered to the first person included there, and afterwards the user’s own name and full details have to be written at the bottom of the message.

Similarly to recommendations made in chain letters, the game has to be shared with 6 other female friends as well, and eventually the secret presents will be in the mailbox in a matter of 2 weeks.

“Most people look at it like it’s just $10, and it’s kind of exciting and different or whatever. I think that’s what most people are thinking – and thinking is a loose term here”, explained Cynthia Augello, cybersecurity lawyer at Cullen and Dykman LPP.

Moreover, the exchange has soared in popularity because messages are distributed by friends and family, and as more such stories appear in the newsfeed the game appears trustworthy and legit.

However, as Augello has emphasized, it is highly dangerous and reckless to reveal confidential, personally identifiable information such as home address, account numbers, credit or debit card numbers or social security numbers.

Making such sensitive data available for strangers puts individuals at risk of identity theft or credit card fraud. Also, providing details of this kind breaches the platform’s terms of agreement, and could cause users to have their accounts blocked.

Moreover, even if the Secret Santa-style promise is actually fulfilled and the Facebook member does indeed receive a gift in the mail, there is no guarantee that it will be something safe or pleasant.

For example, perpetrators might deliver potentially lethal letter bombs via the postal service, or unidentified chemicals or powders, like it happened in the 2001 Anthrax Attacks.

In a less frightful scenario, getting involved in this online game simply results in receiving a disappointing present, which makes the participants regretful they ever signed up.

In addition, there is also the question of the legality of this exchange, given that it functions almost the same as a chain letter.

As the U.S. Postal Inspection Service website specifies, chain letters are against the law when they “request money or other items of value, and promise a substantial return to the participants”.

They actually represent a type of gambling, and spending money in order to participate and deliver such messages is in violation of United States Code, Title 18, Chapter 61, Section 1302.

Image Source: Pixabay

Email, RSS Follow

Chen Lai

Chen Lai

With over 6 years of experience in writing news about various topics, able and efficient to write news related to the health, business and technology market. Chen Lai can be reached at [email protected]

Filed Under: Tech & Science

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Recent Articles

dc logo on black galaxy background

Ava DuVernay to Direct DC’s New Gods Adaptation

March 16, 2018 By Rebecca McGhee Leave a Comment

leonardo davinci's signature in black

Is DaVinci’s Record Breaking Painting Authentic?

November 20, 2017 By Rebecca McGhee Leave a Comment

stephen hawking

Stephen Hawking Makes Gloomy Prediction For Earth In A 100 Years

May 7, 2017 By Deborah Nielsen Leave a Comment

"Dwayne Johnson not dead"

Dwayne Johnson Died this Week or Not

January 19, 2016 By Jason Leathers 3 Comments

There Are At Least Three More Seasons of Game of Thrones To Go

July 31, 2015 By Rebecca McGhee Leave a Comment

Homelessness Soars in L.A., Officials Pledge to House Everybody by 2016

May 12, 2015 By Brian Galloway Leave a Comment

FBI Releases National Report on Slain Police Officers, Figures are Alarming

May 12, 2015 By Rebecca McGhee Leave a Comment

New York Nuclear Plant Partially Shut Down due to Hudson Oil Slick

May 11, 2015 By Jason Leathers 2 Comments

Obama Draws Heat from Democrats over Asia Trade Deal

May 9, 2015 By Rebecca McGhee Leave a Comment

Florida Governor Changes Stance on Obamacare Once More, Budget on Hold

May 9, 2015 By Brian Galloway Leave a Comment

Secret Service to add an Extra Layer of Spikes to White House Fence

May 8, 2015 By Chen Lai Leave a Comment

Police Arrested Suspect in death of Student who tried to Sell Car on Craigslist

May 8, 2015 By Deborah Nielsen 1 Comment

AccuWeather.com: 2015 Atlantic Tropical Storm Season is Officially Open

May 7, 2015 By Deborah Nielsen Leave a Comment

Illinois Student Found Dead after Trying to Sell his Car on Craigslist

May 7, 2015 By Deborah Nielsen 2 Comments

Related Articles

  • ET movie

    Study Finds We Are Alone in the Universe

    Jun 26, 2018
  • Sarah Huckabee Sanders

    Restaurant Owner Not Sorry for Booting Sarah Sanders

    Jun 26, 2018
  • New Type of Photosynthesis Spotted in Blue-Green Algae

    Jun 20, 2018
  • Tropical fish and coral reef

    Coral Reefs Save Us from Flooding (Study)

    Jun 14, 2018
  • NASA astronaut on the moon

    NASA Astronauts Warmed Up the Moon in the 1970s

    Jun 12, 2018
  • Antarctic landscape

    Antarctica Experiencing Routine Earthquakes Like Any Other Continent

    Jun 5, 2018
  • SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch

    SpaceX Launches Powerful Communications Satellite into Orbit

    Jun 5, 2018
  • Planet Pluto

    Scientists Have New Theory About Pluto’s Formation

    May 30, 2018
  • The Milky Way

    NASA Uses Lasers to Re-Create Coldest Spot in the Universe

    May 22, 2018
  • Plastic bottle on a sand beach

    Earth Has Had 33 Years of Above-than-Average Temperatures

    May 21, 2018

Categories

  • Business
  • Headlines
  • Health
  • Sports
  • Tech & Science
  • US
  • World

Copyright © 2021 capitalwired.com

About · Privacy Policy · Terms of Use · Contact