Fact Check

SCAM ALERT: The 'Coca-Cola Welfare Fund' is Not Giving Away Lottery Money

Online posts spread across multiple countries, offering prize money in more than one currency.

Published June 9, 2021

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Claim:
The Coca-Cola Welfare Fund is offering users a chance to win money by entering a lottery after they complete an online survey.

An online survey purportedly from the “Coca-Cola Welfare Fund” is promising you a chance to win money in a lottery. But like many things online, it is a scam, and you should not click on any link promising this so-called opportunity.

The link spread far and wide in early June 2021, across Facebook pages in many countries, stating a variation of: “Click to enter to participate in the survey, have a chance to win 7000 peso.” In Cambodia, it reportedly offered a chance to win 200,000 riel, the local currency.

Screenshots show the scam was also shared in multiple languages:

Text, Poster, Advertisement

The post spread so much that the Cambodian Ministry of Interior’s Anti-Cybercrime Department released a statement to warn people not to click on a link claiming to be from the “Coca-Cola Welfare Fund.” Chea Pov, the director of the anti-cybercrime department, said such posts were intended to spread viruses, collect user data, and locate users.

Even Coca-Cola in the Philippines weighed in on its official Facebook page:

Coca-Cola Philippines Careers released the following statement:

We would like to inform the public that Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines, Inc. does not distribute any link under “Coca-Cola Welfare Fund” that requires a survey in exchange for cash incentives. Please do not input any personal information or click any suspicious links from these offers. We advise everyone to remain vigilant against any scam, and to only engage with company representatives who use the official company email address @coca-cola.com.ph.

Do not fall victim to these scammers and report any issues to our Alert and Response Center at alert.response@coca-cola.com.ph. Visit our career website and follow our official accounts on LinkedIn, Facebook & Instagram for any updates.

Scams claiming to be from Coca-Cola have been circulating for some time. In late 2020, Coca-Cola’s United Kingdom office responded to a rumor about an email from the company that was promising customers a lot of prize money. The company posted on its website, “We’re aware there are hoax emails and text messages in circulation that claim – quite falsely – to belong to a Coca‑Cola promotion. They’re scams designed to extract financial information from you. So please ignore them.”

Article 23 of 24 in Collection

Nur Nasreen Ibrahim is a reporter with experience working in television, international news coverage, fact checking, and creative writing.