Ingredients: Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Niacin, Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Water, Sugar, Yeast, Soybean Oil, Contains 2% or Less: Salt, Wheat Gluten, Sesame Seeds, Potato Flour, May Contain One or More Dough Conditioners (DATEM, Ascorbic Acid, Mono and Diglycerides, Enzymes), Calcium Propionate (Preservative).
Contains: WHEAT.
100% BEEF PATTY
Ingredients: 100% Pure USDA Inspected Beef; No Fillers, No Extenders. Prepared with Grill Seasoning (Salt, Black Pepper).
SHREDDED LETTUCE
Ingredients: Lettuce.
BIG MAC SAUCE
Ingredients: Soybean Oil, Pickle Relish (Diced Pickles, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Sugar, Vinegar, Corn Syrup, Salt, Calcium Chloride, Xanthan Gum, Potassium Sorbate [Preservative], Spice Extractives, Polysorbate 80), Distilled Vinegar, Water, Egg Yolks, Onion Powder, Spices, Salt, Propylene Glycol Alginate, Sodium Benzoate (Preservative), Mustard Bran, Sugar, Garlic Powder, Vegetable Protein (Hydrolyzed Corn, Soy and Wheat), Caramel Color, Extractives of Paprika, Soy Lecithin, Turmeric (Color), Calcium Disodium EDTA (Protect Flavor).
Contains: WHEAT, EGG, SOY.
PASTEURIZED PROCESS AMERICAN CHEESE
Ingredients: Milk, Cream, Water, Sodium Citrate, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Color Added, Sorbic Acid (Preservative), Citric Acid, Lactic Acid, Acetic Acid, Enzymes, Soy Lecithin.
Contains: MILK, SOY.
PICKLE SLICES
Ingredients: Cucumbers, Water, Distilled Vinegar, Salt, Calcium Chloride, Alum, Potassium Sorbate (Preservative), Natural Flavors, Polysorbate 80, Extractives of Turmeric (Color).
ONIONS
Ingredients: Onions.
In March 2020, Facebook posts circulating online offered free coupons supposedly good for two free Big Mac Meals for a month from outlets of the McDonald’s fast food chain:
McDonald's Gluten Free Menu Provided below is a listing of components in our popular menu items by category, followed by the ingredient statements for those components. Allergens contained within these components are indicated in capital type at the end of each respective ingredient statement. McDonald’s “Meal Builder” feature allows you to build a meal online to meet your dietary requirements. Use McDonald’s online coupons for fast savings on America’s original fast food, including: McDonald’s classics like Big Mac, Double Cheeseburger, and Chicken McNuggets; Seasonal favorites like the delectable McRib sandwich.
Users who clicked on the offer were taken to an external website where they were instructed to answer survey questions in order to receive their coupons:
Free Big Mac Meals Mcdonalds
After completing the questionnaire, however, users were then required to click a button to share the “offer” with their Facebook friends before they could retrieve their coupons. Those who complied by spamming their friends were then allowed to click a “Receive the Coupon” button, but there was no actual coupon to receive.
Big Mac Special Deal
Like innumerable other “free merchandise” offers on Facebook (including previous examples targeting McDonald’s customers), this offer was a common form of scam.
We’ve had many occasions to alert readers to this kind of fraud:
These types of viral “coupon” scams often involve websites and social media pages set up to mimic those of legitimate companies. Users who respond to those fake offers are required to share a website link or social media post in order to spread the scam more widely and lure in additional victims. Then those users are presented with a “survey” that extracts personal information such as email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and even sometimes credit card numbers. Finally, those who want to claim their “free” gift cards or coupons eventually learn they must first sign up to purchase a number of costly goods, services, or subscriptions.
The Better Business Bureau offers consumers several general tips to avoid getting scammed:
- Don’t believe what you see. It’s easy to steal the colors, logos, and header of any other established organization. Scammers can also make links look like they lead to legitimate websites and emails appear to come from a different sender.
- Legitimate businesses do not ask for credit card numbers or banking information for coupons or giveaways. If they do ask for personal information, like an address or email, be sure there’s a link to their privacy policy.
- When in doubt, do a quick web search. If the giveaway is a scam, this is likely to reveal an alert or bring you to the organization’s real website, where they may have posted further information.
- Watch out for a reward that’s too good to be true. Businesses typically give out small discounts to entice customers. If the offer seems too good to be true (a $100 voucher or 50% discount) it may be a scam.
- Look for a mismatched subject line and email body. Many of these scams have an email subject line promising one thing, but the content of the email is something completely different.