Fairlife Milk Imposter Car Wrap Scam

A TINA.org reader told us they recently got the following text:

Hi, We are currently recruiting individuals nationwide, those that would like to earn extra cash by advertising for a milk company. Click the link for more details

Advertising for a milk company may not sound like the most exciting work but who doesn’t want to earn extra cash?

Clicking on the link provided in the text directs to a document with information on a purported car wrap program with an official-sounding name and a worthwhile cause. The program is called the Paid to Drive Initiative by Fairlife Milk and its stated goal is “to help humanity,” specifically those affected by the pandemic, according to the document. How does it do this, you ask? By paying participants to turn their car into a mobile billboard by placing a small sticker with the brand’s graphics on the vehicle.

You will be compensated with $850 per week which is essentially a “Rental” payment for letting FAIRLIFE MILK® use the space and no fee is required from you. FAIRLIFE MILK® shall provide specialists that will handle the advert placing on your car. You will receive an upfront payment in-form of Cashier’s check via courier service for accepting to carry this advert on your car.

“It sounded too good to be true,” our reader said.

They contacted Fairlife on Twitter. The brand wrote back that its owner, the Coca-Cola Company, “does not support individual car wraps, and we are in no way associated with these emails or programs,” adding:

We are not a sponsor for this organization, and our name and trademarks are being used without permission.

At this point, it’s clear that the car wrap scam, which dates back to 2016, is here to stay. Scammers have also posed as Fiji, Marlboro, Monster Energy, Pepsi, Purell and Red Bull, among others.

The goal is to get you to withdraw money from your checking account after you deposit the check but before it bounces (because it’s a fake check), leaving you with a hole in your bank account. Those “specialists” that are in charge of installing the decal on your car? They aren’t coming because they don’t exist.

Some companies have legitimate car wrap programs that pay consumers to shrink-wrap their car in the brand’s advertising. So some offers may be legit but proceed with caution, such as confirming with the brand that they actually have a car wrap program — like our reader did.

Find more of our coverage on car wrap scams here.