JohnAndLisaGiveBack Powerball Scam

JohnAndLisaGiveBack is a scam. There is a website set up called JohnAndLisaGiveBack.com that claims confirmed Powerball winners John and Lisa Robinson will be giving back money through the website. However, this is entirely false. John and Lisa Robinson did not set this website up and you will not receive $10,000 by visiting the website or following any type of instructions.

When you visit JohnAndLisaGiveBack.com you will notice a compelling “people remaining” counter. This is done to make a sense of urgency in order to persuade visitors to share links on the website to their social media friends and followers. If you follow instructions on the website or simply visit the website while logged into Facebook or another social media account your account will become compromised by what is technically called a manual share web attack, or Facebook manual share web attack.

A manual share web attack usually adds a rogue app or gains access to your social media account automatically by other means. Once this is done your social media account such as Facebook will begin to post links to the JohnAndLisaGiveBack.com website on your behalf. It will also tag your friends in the post. This is known as a Facebook tag-jacking scam and is very common with these types of social media scams.

When I was investigating the JohnAndLisaGiveBack scam I noticed that it had a few fake testimonials from obviously fake people. I actually recognized the images and names of these people from other Facebook scams including one last month that claimed you could get a free Six Flags season pass if you visit a website and share a link.

This finding leads me to conclude that the people who crafted the JohnAndLisaGiveBack scam have had their noses in various similar Facebook scams for quite some time.

• The JohnAndLisaGiveBack scam has been debunked by various websites.
• The people countdown timer is fake. This usually starts at around 97. As you’re on the website, reading the page, the countdown timer quickly runs down to say “People Remaining: 6.” If you clear your cache, including all your browser’s cookies, and refresh the page, the counter magically starts up at 97 all over again.
• Testimonials are fake and have been used for other Facebook scams.
• People who have tried the website said that it does not work. The website claims that if you invite 2 friends and after the 2 friends click your link that you will get your cash instantly. People on Facebook and Twitter reported that they never got the cash they were supposedly supposed to get.
• There are many Powerball scams. Also see: Matthew Kimball and Rickstarr Ferragamo.

If your social media account has been affected by this scam or you visited the malicious website you will need to clean your computer and change your social media passwords, as well as remove any rogue social media apps that may have been installed.

• To remove malware from your computer download Malwarebytes and scan your computer for any threats.
• To change your Facebook password go to Settings and click Password. Make sure to log out of any devices when promoted to do so.
• To remove rogue Facebook apps go to Settings and click Apps on the side menu. Hover over a rogue Facebook app with your mouse and click the “x” next to it to remove it.