Renowned Store Names Exploited by Scammers

A fake e-mail presently circulating on the Internet in Utah (USA) and other places includes a false Wal-Mart consumer survey, asking for private financial data and offers a gift certificate worth $100.

The fake e-mail announces that the recipient has been chosen to participate in the Walmart 2 steps survey and win a $100.00 gift certificate.

The contact address in the message is given as Walmart.com. The name of the customer service director given in the address is genuine and the links provided underneath the survey are actually those of the genuine Wal-Mart site. Just like all other cyber scams, it seems legitimate.

But the site's domain address on the screen confirms that it isn't from Wal-Mart's real site but just a link to it. Moreover, getting $100 for just one or two minutes of work is an indication that something is wrong.

Due to the present economic meltdown and decline in purchasing power of people, these scams are bound to rise. Individuals facing difficult economic phase might be eager to receive an immediate gift.

The Wal-Mart officials claimed that they do not take part in these kinds of promotions. They also said that it was unfortunate that their brand name was exploited. It's just a fraud. Otherwise, why would Wal-Mart pay $100 for answering a short survey conducted by them?

Moreover, scammers and hackers are posing as customer service staff from few of the leading names in the industry. Cyber criminals are disguising as renowned firms that conduct several businesses, particularly retailers and shipping firms, to gain recipients' confidence and hack computer drives, data file, and accounts to steal private data like social security, banking or credit card details.

Besides, cyber criminals utilizing phishing e-mails are deceiving users by masquerading as trusted companies like FedEx, Wal-Mart and UPS to exploit the seasonal rise in Internet shopping and shipping of goods throughout the nation.

Hence, the Utah Division of Consumer Protection and the company authorities have cautioned consumers against replying to any message or pop-up content that solicits private or banking details. Authorized firms don't solicit this data through e-mail.

Related article: Rinbot, an On and Off Threat

» SPAMfighter News - 2/6/2009