Fake Promotions Exploit G-SHOCK to Mislead Social Media Users
As Facebook is a hub for promoting goods and services, various Facebook announcements have said Japanese watchmaker CASIO offered big discounts for its G-SHOCK watches for those who place orders online. The promotions have been widely circulated on social media platforms, garnering significant attention and reactions from Facebook users since the end of last month. However, our investigation found out they were false.
SOCIAL MEDIA CLAIM
Numerous promotions circulating on social media claimed that the Japanese watchmaker CASIO offered discounts of up to 70% on its G-Shock smartwatches in regional markets.
The promotions have been widely circulated on social media platforms, garnering significant attention and reactions from Facebook users since the end of last month.
Below is a snapshot of a G-Shock discount promotion circulated by a Facebook page on August 29, 2024. It claims that CASIO is offering 70 per cent off on its products for orders placed through a provided link.
Another Facebook page announced a similar promotion last week, stating that customers wishing to purchase CASIO products could place an online order via a provided link, eliminating the need to wait in long queues at stores.
Below is a screenshot of the Facebook post from September 10, 2024, which received numerous shares, reactions, and comments from social media users.
Below is a screenshot of the G-Shock big discount promoted on social media platforms last week by another Facebook page, stating that the CASIO G-Shock price dropped to 2 million Filipino pesos from 7,700,000 pesos.
Below is a screenshot of the G-Shock big discount promoted on social media platforms last week by another Facebook page, stating that the CASIO G-Shock price dropped to 2 million Filipino pesos from 7,700,000 pesos.
Many similar posts have been widely circulated on Facebook over the past couple of months. These promotions can be seen via a link here (archived), another link here (archived), or another link here (archived).
The same promotion in Khmer was also circulated on social media in recent weeks, stating that CASIO G-Shocks are on sale with discounts of up to 80 percent.
The Facebook post mentioned that the promotion was to celebrate the 38th anniversary of the Japanese watchmaker CASIO and that orders could be placed via a provided link.
Below is a snapshot of a Facebook post from two weeks ago, stating that CASIO offered up to an 80 percent discount on its G-Shock watches for online orders only.
Similar announcements in Khmer can be viewed on the Facebook platform through this link (archived) and this link (archived).
FACT CHECK
Fact Crescendo started debunking these claims by reviewing the company’s official announcements, promotions, and statements. Here are the facts we discovered:
CASIO, a Japanese electronics manufacturer, produces a range of products including calculators, mobile phones, digital cameras, electronic musical instruments, and watches.
Established in 1957, CASIO sells its products globally, but in Cambodia, the brand is particularly renowned for its calculators and watches.
One of its watches, the G-Shock, is known for its durability and innovation and is widely sold in the Cambodian market.
After reviewing the official website, we discovered that CASIO has not provided any significant discounts on its G-Shock watches in any international market.
On its official Facebook page, CASIO G-SHOCK, CASIO has not offered any significant discounts in any market.
For the Filipino market, the official Facebook page of CASIO’s G-Shock watch brand is named CASIO G-SHOCK PH, and its official website can be found here.
After reviewing the official Facebook page in the Philippines, we discovered a public notice issued by the company in June, alerting the public to online scams that use images of G-Shock watches to deceive social media users.For the Cambodian market, CASIO has a dedicated portal accessible here. Yet, we discovered there is no official Facebook page specifically for the Cambodian market.
However, the Facebook page “G-Shock Cambodia” consistently promotes various types of CASIO watches, focusing on G-Shock models. This page is owned by the Swiss Watch Centre, which distributes and sells a variety of international brand watches.
Fact Crescendo attempted to contact the store in Phnom Penh for comment and clarification, but no one answered our call.
Reviewing the Facebook page, we found that the store has no significant promotions for CASIO G-Shock watches in the Cambodian market.
As previously mentioned, each Facebook post included links to entice social media users to click on them. However, we discovered that these links were not secure.
Below is a snapshot showing the antivirus software detecting and blocking a virus after we clicked on the provided links.For several months, numerous announcements have circulated on social media platforms, claiming that global brands like Samsung, Apple, and Dior are offering significant discounts on their products.
In our previous debunking stories, we discovered that the promotions circulating on social media using global brands were fake and scams designed to deceive social media users.
As online scams have become widespread, the Ministry of Interior's Anti Cyber Crime Department has cautioned social media users to be aware of any announcements on social media that promise rewards or gifts.
CONCLUSION
Fact Crescendo discovered that the major promotions using images of CASIO G-Shock, as described above, were false. The Japanese watchmaker CASIO clarified that it had no association with these discounts, which are aimed at deceiving social media users.