Free Tiny House? Free RV? Why Those Facebook Giveaways Are (Almost Always) Scams

Every holiday season, my feed fills up with “too good to be true” giveaways.

This year’s special: posts claiming a company is giving away a tiny house or a brand new RV.
All you have to do, they say, is type a character like “@” in the comments, and poof — you’re entered to win a house on wheels.

Let’s talk about why this is almost certainly not your lucky day… and how to keep yourself and your friends safe.

What These Posts Usually Look Like

Most of them follow the same basic script:

“To celebrate Christmas / the holidays, we’re giving away one of these amazing Tiny Houses / RVs.”
“All you have to do is type @ (or a word) and click highlight, and if it turns blue, you’re entered.”
“Winner will be chosen on [nice-sounding date] at [time].”

Big beautiful picture. Big exciting promise. And zero proof any of it is real.

Why This Smells Like a Scam

Here are the key red flags:

Huge prize, tiny effort
A house or RV is a serious, high-value item. Real companies don’t give those away just for typing a symbol in the comments. If the “effort” is almost nothing, it’s usually bait, not generosity.
No proper rules or details
Legit giveaways have:
- Terms and conditions
- Eligibility (age, country, etc.)
- A way to contact the organizer
- Clear rules on how the winner is chosen
These posts usually have none of that. Just a date and a vague promise.
Copy-and-paste wording across different pages
When the exact same text shows up on a “Tiny House” page, an “RV” page, and random other pages, that’s a sign someone is running a mass scam campaign, not a one-off act of kindness.
Strange entry instructions
“Type @ and click highlight” does nothing magical. It’s just a way to get people to comment, which makes the post spread further.
You never see a real winner
Watch these pages after the “drawing date.” Do they show a verifiable winner with real details?
Usually not. They just quietly vanish, change names, or start posting something completely different.

What the Scammers Actually Want

There are two common goals with fake giveaways like this:

1. Engagement farming

They want your:

Likes
Comments
Shares
Follows

The more interaction they get, the more valuable the page becomes. Later they can:

Rename the page and use it to push spam or shady products
Sell the page to another scammer
Start posting phishing links or fake “special offers”

2. Information and money down the road

Sometimes, after the post has gathered enough eager participants, they’ll contact “winners” by direct message:

“Congratulations! You’ve won the tiny house/RV! Just pay shipping/taxes/processing and fill out this form.”

That’s where they try to harvest:

Full name, address, phone, email
Sometimes ID details
And in the worst cases, credit card or banking info

Suddenly that “free” prize becomes very expensive.

“But I Only Commented — Am I in Danger?”

If all you did was like, comment, or share:

They see your public profile info and know you’re someone who responds to this type of bait.
You might get more scammy friend requests or messages in the future.

The real risk starts if you:

Click any link they send
Fill out a form
Send money for fees, shipping, or “verification”

That’s when you step into identity theft and fraud territory.

How to Protect Yourself (and Your Friends)

Here’s your Bob the Cyber-Guy checklist for Facebook giveaways:

Treat huge prizes with suspicion
Free house, free RV, free luxury vacation for commenting once? Assume it’s fake until you can prove otherwise.
Look for real-world proof
- Check the company’s official website. Is the giveaway mentioned there?
- Look at the page history. Is it new? Recently renamed? Full of random content?
Never pay to claim a prize
If they want money for “shipping,” “taxes,” “customs,” or “processing fees,” walk away. Legit contests don’t make winners pay upfront.
Don’t give out sensitive info
Don’t send your ID number, full birthdate, or financial info to claim anything from a social media post.
Use Facebook’s tools
- Click the three dots (…) on the post or page
- Choose Report → Scam or fraud
- You can also block the page so they can’t message you again.
Warn others
Share a short warning so friends and family don’t fall for it. Many people trust what they see on Facebook more than they should.

Final Word from Bob the Cyber-Guy

If it looks like a life-changing prize for doing almost nothing, it’s probably changing someone’s life — just not yours.

Be cautious, be curious, and don’t let holiday excitement override common sense. There are plenty of real ways to enjoy the season that don’t involve handing over your data to strangers with a pretty picture of a tiny house.

Stay safe, stay secure, stay curious, and remember my friends — you're never too old to outsmart a scammer👋

(I created the prompt, ChatGPT created the information.)

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