It is said one should keep their friends close and their enemies closer. But in the case of one unlucky Newfoundland resident, the line between friend and foe has apparently been blurred.
Margaret Coward was elated to find she had won a substantial prize from Tim Hortons’ “Roll Up the Rim” campaign. Any winning cup that offers a prize larger than a free coffee or doughnut is imprinted with a unique security code, which Coward unwittingly revealed to her almost-thousand Facebook friends when she posted a picture of the cup online. She was in for a nasty surprise, however, when upon going online to claim her prize — a $100 Tim Hortons gift card — she discovered that someone else had already beat her to it. The photograph had been online for less than an hour.
“I was a little bit upset with myself, but also upset because of the fact that someone had betrayed me, taken advantage of me,” said the Conception Bay South resident.
Redemption policies have changed over the years; formerly, it was required that winners mail their winning tabs to claim their prize. Today, the security code can be inputted online. While certainly more convenient, it does expose those unaware of the new procedure to the risk of having their reward swiped from under their noses.
“As these are unique PIN codes, we do not encourage our guests to post images of their tabs on social media until they have redeemed their prize,” said Jodi Bond of Restaurant Brands International.
Coward has no clue of the identity of the fair-weather Facebook friend that stole her $100 gift card; their information must be kept confidential due to privacy laws. Adding further insult to injury, there is no guarantee that Tim Hortons will compensate her with a prize of her own.
The moral of the story? Coward offers up her words of wisdom and caution: “Beware of what you post. Not all friends are real friends.”
