What’s new in fake news?

Dollar General not giving away $150 coupons Dollar General is not giving away $150 coupons online to celebrate 135 years of service despite an offer circulating on social media.

When users click on the fake coupon, a page opens offering congratulations and telling users they have been selected to take a short survey for which they will receive a $150 store coupon. It then claims there are only a few coupons remaining. Once the three questions have been answered, it prompts the user to share the page on Facebook, thank Dollar General in the comments, and then “like” it. Users are told they just got a $150 coupon, but no contact information is requested.

“The $150 coupon circulating on Facebook is not valid and cannot be redeemed in stores or online,” said Mary Kathryn Colbert, Dollar General public relations manager. Additionally, the company was founded in 1939, meaning they have been in business for 79 years, not 135 years as the coupon claims.

Colbert encourages customers not to click on links associated with the coupon and to report it to Facebook as “misleading and fraudulent.”

Lior Kohavi, chief technology officer for Cyren, an internet security company, noted that just because the surveys aren’t asking for personal data, it doesn’t mean they aren’t collecting it. He said advanced phishing and malware techniques are often gathering much more information than people realize.

The offer is similar to several others circulating on social media, including false offers of coupons for free Delta and WestJet airline tickets, tickets to Disneyland and a free Toyota.

Elon Musk Leaves Tesla, Jumps On Financial Tech

Elon Musk has not announced plans to leave Tesla to start a digital currency company despite a false report circulating online.

The report, carried on a webpage made to look like the CNN Tech site, claims that Musk is leaving his job as CEO of the company to focus on “Bitcoin Profit.” Links in the story for Bitcoin Profit redirect the user to advertisements or video streaming sites.

A similar report made headlines in September and has circulated since then, sometimes with slightly different details.

Kamran Mumtaz, a spokesman for Tesla, said the reports are false.

CNN said the story and graphics published on the page were false and had been manufactured to appear as a CNN.com article.

Attempts to reach creators of the webpage were unsuccessful.