Is a Hudson Valley Business Really Giving Everyone Dinner For Two?

A message from a Hudson Valley restaurant claims they're giving all customers a complimentary dinner for two. Is it too good to be true?

The post claiming to be from a Texas Roadhouse exec was posted on Sunday night explaining how customers can get a free meal, including drinks. In the post, Gerald Morgan reportedly explains that he's making the offer as a "good deed." The free meal is a reward to the restaurant's loyal customers in light of the tough times everyone has been through over the past few years.

The message was shared on several Dutchess and Orange County Facebook groups, garnering thousands of comments and shares.

Hello everyone I’m Gerald L. Morgan. I am very happy to announce I’m the new CEO of Texas Roadhouse. I’d like to start my new job off with a good deed for everyone as I know recent times have been tough which is why I’m going to be rewarding everyone who shares&comments by March 2th with a voucher to get a meal for two with drinks at any Texas Roadhouse (1 per person)

The post also includes a link that customers need to click in order to validate their entry. In just hours, thousands of customers have already replied to the message, explaining what the free meal means to them.

Unfortunately, those people have all been scammed.

The post is not from the actual Texas Roadhouse restaurant. Instead, it was generated from a fake account that's only mission is to harvest your personal information. Sadly, even after the scam has been called out by countless Facebook users, people are continuing to click the link and share their personal information in hopes of getting a free dinner.

It's the same endless cycle of misinformation and denial that has made people distrust a life-saving vaccine and continue to believe disproven political messages. Even when presented with clear-cut facts that this isn't the real Texas Roadhouse Facebook page, people continue to put their personal information at risk because they either desperately want it to be true or are just too stubborn to admit that they've been duped.

The only difference here is that the worst thing that can happen is a stolen identity and being embarrassed when you show up to claim your free dinner for two. More serious Facebook scams have left vulnerable people unvaccinated and dead, or unknowingly promoting very unamerican ideals in the name of "freedom."

Although the post was just created, the scam isn't new. Texas Roadhouse has been fighting this scheme since the Fall. In a pinned post on their verified Facebook page, the restaurant explains that it's completely bogus.

While we can't solve all of the terrible problems that Facebook has spread throughout the country, the people who get burned by this scam will hopefully think twice before believing many of the other big lies that the social network continues to perpetuate.