Contests And Promotions Myths & Rumors

Rumor: Coca-Cola job offers/job posting websites

The Coca-Cola Company has learned of emails in circulation and postings on internet websites that falsely offer jobs to individuals. Two examples include:

• Emails or websites that offer jobs to individuals willing to collect money on behalf of Coca-Cola for charity work in Georgia and Asia. The subject line on such emails may read "Coca-Cola Jobs" and may refer to Coca-Cola Charity Coordinator, Coca-ColaCharityCoordinator@live.com, and/or Tony Cook.
  
  
• A website using the url www.instanthumanrecources.com that claims to be an official job site for the Company. The fraudulent job application requests personal information, including Social Security numbers and copies of driver’s licenses. The website has been designed to look legitimate by including Company images, photographs and other trademarks.

In some cases, the perpetrators have contacted the victims and falsely claimed to hire them in order to obtain additional personal and financial information and in some cases have asked them to cash fraudulent checks and send them money.

Our Response:  The Coca-Cola Company is in no way associated with this website. The jobs listed on the sites or in the emails are not real, we are not a sponsor, and our name and trademarks are used here without permission. We are currently investigating the situation with the appropriate authorities.

This appears to be a form of fraud known as "phishing," wherein perpetrators attempt to develop relationships with victims in order to obtain personal and financial information. Common signs that a message may be a part of an email scam or phishing campaign include:

• Spelling and grammatical errors in the email;
• Improper use of company trademarks;
• Sender's use of free, non-corporate email accounts (such as Yahoo!, AOL and Hotmail);
• Requests for personal information and the promise of quick financial gain.

Overall, if it looks too good to be true, it probably is. Do not reply to these emails or letters with any information.

If you have already provided any personal information to any contacts associated with this type of email, letter or website, we recommend that you immediately discontinue all communications with the source and contact your local and/or federal authorities for advice on how to proceed to protect your personal information and privacy.