Bogus Qantas Facebook page fools consumers

More than 100,000 people have been fooled by a fake Qantas Facebook page offering free first-class flights.

The like-farming scam promises free first class flights in return for liking and sharing an image of what purports to be a complimentary invitation to the airline's first class lounge. 

The post claims the reward is a celebration of the airline’s achievement in seating more than three million passengers since the start of January this year.

It has so far attracted over 80,000 likes and has been shared more than 100,000 times.

A screenshot of the spoof page.

Qantas took to its official social media channels to warn consumers and Facebook users against the scam.

"We're aware of this fake Facebook account. It is a scam and has nothing to do with Qantas. Facebook has been advised and are currently investigating," the company wrote.

"Our campaigns are always run from our authenticated Facebook page (identified by its authorised blue tick) or through the official Qantas website."

Like-farming is the practice of creating spoof pages, often using popular brands, in an effort to artificially increase a page's popularity by tricking users into liking the page.

The goal is to increase the value of the Facebook page so it can be used to market dubious products and services. The more likes a page has, the more value it can attract.

A page with more than 100,000 likes could attract up to $1000 even though selling pages is against Facebook's terms and conditions.