Share and like to get 500 free airline tickets? Emirates: Fake!

▲ A fake Emirates Facebook fan page hosting a giveaway event. (Photo / Screenshot from Emirates Air. Facebook fan page)

Reported by Chen Rui-zhong, Taipei

Would you want 500 free Emirates airline tickets? A Facebook fan page called Emirates Air. posted a photo of an airline ticket last night, claiming that Emirates would be giving away 500 free tickets with no restrictions on destinations. All people had to do was share, like, and leave a comment to receive a free ticket, attracting nearly 40,000 shares in total.

However, after verification, Emirates Airlines confirmed that this event was “fabricated.” Although the profile picture and homepage photo of the fake site are identical to the original, this page is not the official Emirates Facebook page but a site set up in Hong Kong. Compared to the official page’s 4.8 million likes, the fake one has only about 6,600 likes and is categorized under “Community” rather than “Airline,” and it also lacks the blue verified checkmark from Facebook.

▲ The top image shows the official Emirates fan page with 4.8 million followers, while the bottom shows the fan page hosting the current event.

Anti-fraud consultation personnel from the National Police Agency’s Criminal Investigation Bureau also stated that shady websites often use methods such as likes and photo sharing to attract consumers, and may later collect users’ personal information by asking them to fill out prize-winning forms. The public should still exercise caution.