By Ajibola Osungbohun
Verdict: Link shared by the WhatsApp user about Coca-cola sharing fridge and iPhone 15 pro max is False.
Claim: A WhatsApp user posted a link, claiming that Coca-Cola is celebrating its 125 years anniversary and in commemoration, they are sharing an exclusive gift.
Full Text:
NDR researcher saw the text of a link read in parts on WhatsApp which indicates that the Coca-Cola company is giving a gift for its 125 years anniversary, urging all the patrons to participate in the free gift collection.
The link was captioned “Hello! Welcome to the Coca-Cola 2024 Anniversary! This year we are celebrating 125 years, and to commemorate it, we want to give you an exclusive gift”. The link also promised a reward of a retro Coca-Cola refrigerator upon sharing it with as many people as possible.
After checking the website, we were informed that we had won a refrigerator and an iPhone 15 Pro Max, and that, in order to claim them, we needed to share the supposed draw with several friends and groups via WhatsApp. It also nudged us to invite several friends and groups through WhatsApp until the blue bar is full before claiming the prize.
The Coca-Cola Company is an American corporation founded in 1892 and today engaged primarily in the manufacture and sale of syrup and concentrate for Coca-Cola, a sweetened carbonated beverage that is a cultural institution in the United States and a global symbol of American tastes.
The company also produces and sells other soft drinks and citrus beverages. With more than 500 brands available in more than 200 countries, Coca-Cola is the largest beverage manufacturer and distributor in the world, one of the largest corporations in the United States, and one of the most successful brands in marketing history. Its headquarters are in Atlanta, Georgia.
In a time when misinformation and disinformation have been observed to be proliferating across all sectors, including business and finance, checking the veracity of the link was paramount, and that prompted NDR to subject the claim to an investigation.
Verification:
To verify the authenticity of the alleged link, NDR compared the purported claim’s website to the Coca-Cola official website using the phishing website detector Scamadviser. And it was discovered that the owner of the purported website is using a service to conceal their identity on WHOIS, a free internet service that allows users to find a specific domain name and check its availability, whereas Coca-Cola’s identity was clearly visible.
We also consulted Tranco, another research-oriented top site that ranks domains based on popularity and vulnerability to manipulation (by malicious actors) and we discovered that the website where the purported link was posted has a low rank, the website seems to be parked, and the website is (very) young. On the other hand, the Coca-Cola official website was ranked highly and is not susceptible to manipulation.
This revealed to us that the purported link originated from a phishing website.
Phishing website, refers to a replica of a legitimate website created by an attacker to deceive users into disclosing their personal and financial information. These websites can either be legitimate websites with phishing content inserted or websites owned by the attacker.
Scammers impersonate brands to get personal data or to take money from someone’s account. Furthermore, on the fraudulent website, you are invited to answer a question to supposedly win a new vending machine fridge +iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Furthermore, an investigation into the official website of the Coca-Cola Company was conducted to determine if it was truly established 125 years ago. Our finding shows that Coca-Cola was founded in 1886, which is over 138 years ago. In 2021, Coca-Cola Nigeria and its bottling partner, Nigerian Bottling Company, recently celebrated 70 years of excellence in Nigeria.
We also discovered that Coca-Cola has previously debunked this claim and warned the public in a disclaimer notice published on its official website, stating that its identity is being used to defraud people into believing that it is giving away prizes such as refrigerators as rewards.
Conclusion:
It has been noticed that the website was created by some individuals to defraud members of the public. Therefore, the link shared by the WhatsApp user about Coca-Cola sharing fridge and iPhone 15 Pro Max is False.
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