Applebee's Gift Certificate Hoax
Another 'freebie by email' hoax: the Applebee's $50 gift certificate giveaway.
Description: Email hoax
Circulating since: Jan 2002
Status: False
Example #1:
Email contributed by TFC, 01/11/10:
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APPLEBEE'S - ENJOY! ($50..00)
Have a great lunch! Hope you enjoy your lunch on Applebee's! Sincerely Visit us at: http://www.applebees.com/ Hey guys, It really works, I tried it and got my Gift certificate confirmation number in 3 minutes. |
Example #2:
Email contributed by Floyd Dennis, 01/12/02:
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-----Forwarded Message -----
Subject: Gift Certificate from Applebees My name is Bill Palmer, founder of Applebees. In an attempt to get our name out to more people in the rural communities where we are not currently located, we are offering a $50 gift certificate to anyone who forwards this email to 9 of their friends. Just send this email to them and you will receive an email back with a confirmation number to claim your gift certificate. Sincerely Bill Palmer Founder of Applebees Hey guys, |
Analysis: In case there are those who still haven't caught on, there are people in this world who get their jollies making up hoaxes and loosing them on the Internet. The texts above, variants of which have been circulating since 2002, are specimens of their handiwork. Generally speaking, any time an email offers you cash or free merchandise for forwarding it to someone else, you're being hoaxed.
For the benefit of the credulous, the following disclaimer can be found on the Applebee's International, Inc. website:
I received an email that said I should forward the message to receive free Applebee's® gift certificates. Is this for real?No. A fraudulent email chain message promising Applebee's® gift certificates for forwarding the message is currently making its way around the Internet. The message promises a gift certificate and a confirmation number after forwarding the message to a specific number of email addresses. Applebee's® International, Inc. does not sponsor or endorse this activity and is unable to fulfill these requests.
I recommend taking them at their word.
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Sources and further reading:
Applebee's Gift Card Hoax
Applebee's FAQ (corporate website)BBB: Applebee's Internet Message Is a Hoax
Better Business Bureau, 30 September 2002
Last updated 01/18/10
