Shoppers beware! A fake WhatsApp message has been reportedly doing the rounds, promising to offer free gifts from Amazon on its 30th anniversary.
The message says “Amazon 30th anniversary celebrations – Free gifts for everyone from www.amazon.com". When users click the message, it says: “Congratulations, you have been chosen to participate in our survey. It will take only a minute, and you will receive a fantastic prize: a Huawei Mate 40 Pro 5G Full Netcom 8GB + 256GB (bright black)".
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It also promises to improve the quality of service for users through the survey. There’s a timer set to create an urgency to take the survey that has four questions -- on gender, age, quality of Amazon service, and the smartphone platform that the individual is using.
On submission of the details, users have to open boxes to get the free gift. Once they “win" the gift, there is a prompt to share the message to five WhatsApp groups or 20 friends. Also, the individual has to download an app and enter the address to receive the free gift.
According to experts, this can be a scam where cybercriminals could be looking for your personal details. They can use the data to either call and defraud you or for identity theft.
Check the address of the link. Typically, it’s not from the original Amazon website. In the message doing the rounds, the link mentioned is Gamevip.xyz.
Always avoid clicking on linked mentioned in forwarded messages. It could be a trap. Hackers can even use it to install malware on your phone or computer. If you receive the message from an unknown number, report it as a scam to WhatsApp and block it.
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