The Coca-Cola Company has learned of several text messages, emails and letters being sent to people that falsely claim the recipient has either won a sweepstake or a cash prize from our Company.
The text messages direct the recipients to a website that appears to be, but is not, an official site of The Coca-Cola Company.
Subject lines for the emails have ranged from "You Have Won $1 million In The Coca-Cola™ 128th Anniversary Promo" to "The Coca-Cola Award Notification" to "The Coca-Cola Promo Winning Notification" to "The Coca-Cola Worldwide Christmas Promo," "Notification for Coca-Cola Foundation Cash Aid," or other similar titles.
Some versions of the text/email hoax indicate a joint promotion with the British American Tobacco Company, an annual mid-year Coca-Cola promotional draw (which includes the name of former Coca-Cola executive vice president, Carl Ware), or a car giveaway in Hong Kong.
The messages also include formal language that makes them look "official," and are sometimes designed to look legitimate by including images or photographs, a "secret pin code" or reference/ticket number and contact information for a Coca-Cola representative.