VERIFY reader Hector texted to ask if a Facebook post about Texas Roadhouse steak dinner giveaways are real. They’re not.
A Facebook post appearing to be affiliated with Texas Roadhouse claims if someone comments or shares the post, they will be awarded a free steak dinner for two.
The post says: “For December this year at Texas Road House's, we wanted to do something special because we know how hard last year was. We've decided to reward everyone who $hares &¢comments before December 10th with a FREE meal for two & includes a drink, redeemable at any location!.”
Credit: Facebook screenshot
VERIFY reader Hector texted us to ask if the advertisem*nt is real.
THE QUESTION
Is Texas Roadhouse giving away a free steak dinner for two as part of an online promotion?
THE SOURCES
- Texas Roadhouse Facebook posts from Sept. 28, 2021 and Sept. 19, 2023
- VERIFY analysis of the Facebook post and page
- University of Denver Information Security Department
THE ANSWER
No, Texas Roadhouse isn’t giving away a free steak dinner for two as part of an online promotion.
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WHAT WE FOUND
Texas Roadhouse on at least two occasions has warned that Facebook posts advertising giveaways or vouchers are not legitimate and are actually a tactic being used by scammers to obtain your personal information.
“ATTENTION LOYAL GUESTS: There has been a rise in online scam pages and groups circulating on Facebook offering Texas Roadhouse meal vouchers and other giveaways. If you see a suspicious post in your News Feed offering free vouchers to Texas Roadhouse, please do not click on any links, share your personal information, or share with your friends. Texas Roadhouse will never require personal financial information as part of any approved giveaway,” a portion of a Sept. 18 Facebook post from Texas Roadhouse says.
ATTENTION LOYAL GUESTS:There has been a rise in online scam pages and groups circulating on Facebook offering Texas...
Posted by Texas Roadhouse onTuesday, September 19, 2023
This is not the first time scam posts associated with Texas Roadhouse circulated on Facebook. According to VERIFY partner station KHOU, the same scam made the rounds in 2021. Those posts claimed to be an authentic message from Texas Roadhouse CEO Gerald Morgan.
The post said: “I know times have been tough so to help everyone out I have a special surprise for everyone who shares&comments then. Every person who does this by Sep 30th can get a voucher. Each voucher can be used at any texas roadhouses restaurant to get a meal for two with drinks!”
In September 2021, Texas Roadhouse issued a warning to guests that those posts were scams. Texas Roadhouse said the accounts impersonating Texas Roadhouse were “attempting to gain access to personal information.”
Both of the fake posts had a number of typos or grammatical errors, which is often a sign of a scam. For example, the name of the restaurant itself was spelled wrong. The team photo used in the scam Facebook post was lifted from this legitimate Texas Roadhouse Facebook post about a grand opening in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, in 2017.
In the comment section of the Facebook post, the page asks users to click on a link in order to complete a registration and claim the prize.
When we clicked the link, we were redirected to a suspicious website that also had a number of spelling and grammatical errors. The website was not associated with any official Texas Roadhouse website or account.
Here are some tips to consider before you click on any link. The University of Denver Information Security Department says to take a look at the web address, or URL, itself for these common red flags:
- The end of the URL has characters that don’t seem like they belong. Like underscores, hyphens or symbols. For example, google.com is not the same as google-search.com.
- The URL is entirely numbers.
- The link is shortened, which usually means it’s not in a typical “www.example” form.
Texas Roadhouse hasn’t been the only steakhouse victim in a series of voucher or giveaway scams. VERIFY partner station WCNC reported accounts claiming to be from Longhorn Steakhouse were offering two free steak dinners. That wasn’t true either.
- VERIFY: Longhorn Steakhouse scam making the rounds on social media
- USPS doesn’t send unsolicited texts about undelivered packages. Those messages are scams
