If your business is running a giveaway on social media, congratulations—you’re about to engage your audience in a fun and rewarding way! But before you dive in, there’s a lurking threat that can turn your giveaway into a nightmare: imposter accounts and scammers. It’s a common scam that happens to countless businesses, especially those with large followings, where fake accounts target your loyal followers, convincing them they’ve won, and then scamming them out of personal information or even credit card details.
So how do you protect your brand and your followers from these scammers?
We’ve helped several businesses, some with over 100,000 followers, run successful, scam-free giveaways using a few simple but effective strategies. Here’s what we do at Loaf Social to make sure your giveaway goes off without a hitch—and without the scammers.
1. Make Your Giveaway Process Crystal Clear
One of the first ways scammers take advantage of followers is through confusion. We always create a detailed giveaway post that outlines exactly how winners will be chosen. Include this in the caption and on the graphic itself to ensure followers know what to expect. The clearer you are upfront, the less likely anyone will fall for a fake DM or imposter message.
2. Only Use Your Original Account to Choose a Winner
Scammers will often create imposter accounts with usernames that look almost identical to yours—sometimes with only a tiny difference like a period, underscore, or slight misspelling. It’s crucial to let your followers know that the winner will only be chosen from your original account (and emphasize the correct spelling of your official username in your post). We also update the original post with the winner’s username so there’s no doubt who won.
3. Never Require Payment to Claim a Prize
One of the biggest red flags of a giveaway scam is when a fake account asks for payment details to claim a prize. We make it very clear in our giveaway posts that no payment—not even for shipping—will ever be required. This builds trust with your audience and makes it obvious when a scammer tries to make a fraudulent request.
4. Warn Followers About Imposter Accounts
Scammers rely on people not paying close attention, so we always remind your audience to double-check the username before engaging with any account. If they notice anything off, like an extra symbol or letter, they know it’s not the real deal. By educating your followers ahead of time, you help them avoid the trap.
5. Keep It Public
When it’s time to choose a winner, transparency is key. We always tag the winner in the original post for all to see. No private messaging about wins, no behind-the-scenes announcements. This way, there’s no room for scammers to swoop in and pretend to be you.
Our Proven Success Rate
At Loaf Social, we’ve used these strategies to run safe and secure giveaways for several of our clients, and we’ve had a 100% success rate. Even with accounts that have 100,000+ followers, we’ve managed to avoid a single scammer hijacking the giveaway process. These techniques work, and they help you build trust with your audience while protecting your brand.
If you want to run a safe and successful giveaway, we’re here to help! Whether you need advice or want us to manage your campaign from start to finish, contact us today for expert consultation. Don’t let scammers spoil your fun—keep your brand and followers safe!