Another Christmas, Another Scam: The Fake Cadbury Hamper Breakdown

Because nothing says “festive spirit” quite like someone trying to rob you for £1.75.

It’s Christmas Time… Which Apparently Means: Let’s Scam Everyone!

Every December, two things reliably happen:

1. Cadbury cranks up the price of chocolate to the point where your wallet cries.
2. Scammers crawl out of whatever malware-infested hole they live in to offer “FREE HAMPERS!!!”

And like clockwork, the Cadbury Christmas Giveaway Scam is back, because nothing spreads holiday cheer quite like harvesting your credit card details.

A WhatsApp message pops up. A tinyurl link. A promise of free chocolate. And before you know it, Aunt Carol has forwarded it to 47 people, including the family cat.

So let’s break down this scam properly, what it does, why it spreads so fast, and how it leads you straight into a £1.75 trap with consequences far bigger than a missing Freddo bar.

1. The Setup: A TinyURL… Because Nothing Says “Legit” Like Hiding the Real Link

You tap the tinyurl. The site loads.

At the top?

christmasgiveawayhampers.pages.dev

Not cadburys.co.uk
Not cadbury.com
Not anything remotely resembling the genuine brand

Just a free development hosting platform pretending to hand out Dairy Milk like Oprah.

Instant red flag, but of course, scammers know people rarely look at the address bar. They’re too busy dreaming about free chocolate.

2. The “Survey”, AKA The Illusion of Engagement

You get a fake quiz:

• Do you know Cadbury?

• Yes

• Are you old?

• Apparently yes

• Do you like chocolate?

• Obviously

Then it proudly announces:

“782 hampers remaining!”

Which is interesting because there were also “782 left yesterday”. And will still be “782 left next Tuesday”. Time is a flat circle in scam world.

You’re invited to open your prize box…
You lose.
Try again…
Surprise! You win.

Exactly like every dodgy carnival game ever created.

3. Where the Viral Explosion Happens: WhatsApp Spam Loop

Here’s where the scam really gets clever.

To “claim” your hamper, you need to share the link to:

• 5 groups
  or

• 20 contacts

Fine, you think. You send it on.

Except… the scam doesn’t care. Even after meeting the requirement, it only marks you as “50 percent done.” You must share again. And again. And again.

In your test run, you had to repeat this 10–15 times before it hit 100 percent.

That means:

1 person → shares to 30
Each of those 30 → shares to 30 more

We’re already at 931 people reached, in just two levels of sharing.

That’s how these scams go viral faster than anything you’ve ever posted intentionally.

4. Fake Facebook? Fake Buttons? Fake Everything.

Burger menu? Doesn’t work.
Social icons? Don’t work.

Then suddenly the page pretends to look like Facebook.

Except the URL at the top betrays it:
It’s still the same .pages.dev site, just wearing a cheap Facebook Halloween costume.

Click again…
You’re transported to:

ultrapromodeals.xyz

A site that screams “please hand us your data, we promise nothing bad will happen” in the same tone that a wolf uses when asking a sheep if it wants a cuddle.

5. The Real Scam: “Just Pay £1.75…”

At long last, the page tells you:

Congratulations! You’ve won!

…now pay £1.75 for “processing”.

And while £1.75 seems harmless, the real damage is done the moment you enter:

• Your full name

• Your address

• Your card number

• Your CVV

• Your identity data

And what happens next depends on how evil the scammers feel that day:

• Maybe they take just £1.75.

• Maybe they take £175.

• Maybe they clone your card and go on a shopping spree.

• Maybe they use your details for identity theft.

Either way, the only hamper you’re getting is a hamper full of regret.

Final Thought

Scams like these rely on two things:

1. People trusting what friends forward
2. People not checking the URL before tapping

A few seconds of caution can save you a world of pain.
If you ever get a link you’re unsure about, drop it to TLMartin Ltd before you click anything.
We’ll tell you if it’s dangerous, usually before you even finish reading the message.

Because with proper IT support, you wouldn’t even blink.