FlySafair warns against scams

Several versions of a scam involving FlySafair branding are circulating on social media. One version offers a “free flights pass” in which a lucky winner can fly free for six months for only R38, and the other promises a return flight and a weekend in a luxury hotel in Plettenberg Bay, also for R38.

Both are scams or fraudulent advertisements by a company based in Cyprus to trick people into signing up for a membership to a dubious online shop supplying party costumes.

The schemes pretend to be a lucky draw in which people must choose the right box to receive the prize of free flights or a free weekend getaway and are then asked to pay a R38 delivery or administration fee to receive the prize.

Not surprisingly, everybody picks the right box and ‘wins’.

However, the winners quickly realise that sharing credit card details with Alwayspartys is a bad idea. At best, you don’t receive six months’ worth of free flights or a relaxing weekend in Plett and take a loss of R38.

However, it is worse. The scam signs you up as a member of Alwayspartys and charges against your credit card every two weeks.

Alwayspartys

“That’s right, FlySafair has teamed up with Lion Roars Hotels and Lodges to give one lucky person the chance to win a 2 night stay in Plettenberg Bay, including 2 x domestic return flights and accommodation at the luxurious Lion Roars Plett Quarter Hotel, with breakfast,” according to one of the Facebook advertisements.

“Valued at over R30 000, this could be your dream come true for two!”

Other Facebook posts show people dressed in FlySafair uniforms in front of a FlySafair aircraft holding up a big boarding pass – proclaiming free flights for six months.

There are other versions of the advertisements. “Special offer from FlySafair. Get a chance to fly free for 6 months. Click apply now to try and win your free flights pass,” is promised in one.

The link on any of these posts brings up a page where the reader is asked to pick a box to see if they are a winner. As mentioned, everybody wins.

The only prize is a subscription to Alwayspartys, owned by Senkoza Limited in Cyprus. The company charges a subscription fee every two weeks for membership to Alwayspartys, which sells party costumes and decorations.

Read: Six tips to avoid being a victim of credit fraud

The membership fee buys “units” at a price of €1 (around R20), which can be used to buy party costumes and decorations. The terms and conditions on the Alwayspartys website disclose that purchased units are non-refundable and are cancelled after 90 days if not used.

The party costumes seem expensive. Dressing a six-year-old girl as a Pink Princess will put a loving mother back close to €40, plus €12 for shipping. That comes to a total of around R1 000.

Little brother can dress up as a cowboy for €32. A bit more interesting is a €29 short leopard print dress and plastic club, which will change mom into a Cavewoman. Unfortunately, she won’t be playing Cavewoman in Plett because the promises of a fun weekend and free flights are all false.

Report

FlySafair chief marketing officer Kirby Gordon says the airline is aware of the scams and is fighting back.

“They are a massive focus to us because these campaigns are fake, and the fraudsters here are very active. Neither of the offers are real.

“It’s horrific. This is criminal activity. It’s fraudulent, and it infringes upon our copyrights. We’re actively working to try and shut these fraudsters down through whatever means we have at our disposal,” says Gordon.

“We’ve been actively trying to educate consumers and staff on these and get them to help us eliminate them by reporting these fake campaigns to Facebook directly. We’ve also engaged Facebook to assist us.”

Read: Airline cancels passengers’ $10 000 business class tickets sold in error for $300

FlySafair’s efforts to fight back against the fraud seem to help. Gordon says the airline does not get a lot of complaints from people who believe FlySafair is the guilty party. “Not so many complaints as such, but loads of people who realise that they are scams [are] alerting us to them, which we deeply appreciate.

“It is tricky to keep up with them because they keep creating new campaigns and new fake Facebook accounts,” he says.

FlySafair warns the public on its Facebook page that these offers are fake. “We also put out a press release a while back to alert folks to fake accounts. There’s been an influx of this activity now in the holidays, but there was also a spate of it around Black Friday in November.

“We urge consumers to please be cautious and to help us by reporting these fake accounts to Facebook. We have a team that constantly trawls these accounts to report them, but the more people who do it, the better,” says Gordon, adding that it is easier to shut these accounts down when many people report them.

Beyond help

Some people don’t pick up on the red flags of offers that seem too good to be true. Even formal warnings from financial authorities are no deterrent.

Fake video clips of well-known businessmen promising untold wealth still circulate, and fraudsters apparently still profit from them. For instance, Moneyweb received several emails from people asking how they could join Immediate Matrix – which used fake videos of Elon Musk and Johann Rupert to entice people into investing – after the Financial Sector Conduct Authority issued a warning that the public should not deal with these entities.

Read: FSCA’s Immediate Matrix warning

Even worse, new scams are urging people to resign from their jobs, register for schemes, and make money by being paid to watch social media reels and videos.

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