Costco crushed the dreams of easily duped deal-seekers on Nov. 12, informing its followers that a widely shared coupon for $75 off a purchase was fake.
"Despite several posts out there, Costco is NOT giving away $75 coupons. While we love our fans and our members, this offer is a SCAM, and in no way affiliated with Costco," the company wrote on Facebook. "Thanks to our fans for letting us know about this recurring hoax!"
And it really is recurring. Last year, a similar $75 off coupon circulated in celebration of Costco's 50th anniversary. If the suspicious dollar amount wasn't enough to tip people off (who gives $75 for a 50th anniversary?), the math should have been. Costco was founded in 1983 and won't come upon its 50th year for another decade-plus.
This year's offer was a data-mining operation, asking users to share personal information in exchange for the coupon. Spreading the scam was also part of the deal, as users were instructed to share the coupon on Facebook to be eligible. Given Facebook's...shall we say older clientele, it has become a hotbed of scamming in recent years for everything from outright fraud to false news reports.
Folks looking to avoid being fooled in the future should know that Costco only accepts coupons issued by Costco and its legitimate deals can always be found on its website. Fans of the bulk shopping giant looking for a quick way to come into $75 will have to do it the old-fashioned way: following the instructions of Detroit rappers.
Elsewhere in the Costco-verse, actor Daniel Kaluuya revealed that he hung out with workers at an Ohio Costco to better understand his role in the movie Queen & Slim.
"Slim works at Costco so I found the Costco that he was at . . . I just kinda hung out and I just spoke to the staff and they just showed me a couple hoods and areas that Slim would be from," he told Stephen Colbert. "I found that if you work at Costco on a Sunday, you earn 38 dollars an hour. So I was like, Oh, he thinks he's a catch so he's going into this date thinking 'I'm a great catch.' Like, of course you're gonna be on Tinder. [He's a] Sunday Costco guy!
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