This Valentine's Day online scam fooling people with free gifts, vouchers
Online frauds and scams are on the rise across the world with each passing day. With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, fraudsters have all the more reasons to dupe consumers. Many of you might have received SMS, emails or even WhatsApp messages that claim to offer free gifts or goodies this Valentine’s Day 2021. Well, we suggest you be careful of such messages and don’t fall for these scams.
Some fraudsters are using emails and other social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, among others to trick people around the world. Sadly, hundreds and thousands of people are falling for these online scams. The most prone to these scams are all the shopaholics out there. Scammers are tricking people with fake shopping websites, offers, discounts, vouchers, and much more related to Valentine’s Day.
A jewellery website is doing exactly the same. Find details about the scam here. According to reports circulating on the internet, a fake international jewellery brand website that goes by the name Pandora is tricking buyers with fake offers and deals. To look genuine, this fake Pandora website has listed jewelleries with US dollars. The site has also added a US address at the bottom of the webpage. Stay aware of this scam and don’t visit this fake jewellery website.
If you notice carefully, the email address xwxrp@langqicyu.wang and the webpage www.pcharms.com also don’t look genuine. The website link also doesn’t get redirected to any webpage related to the brand. We would suggest that you don’t click on such links and it can be tricks to steal your money.
The brand is also sending emails to people visiting the website with the subject Valentine’s Day Give The Gift They Really Want. If you notice carefully there’s a grammatical error in the phishing email’s subject line itself. In fact, most online scams are either grammatically incorrect or there’s some or other spelling error.
The website also claims to provide fake offers from Tata Group. The company, Tata Group, has warned users of fake messages circulating on WhatsApp and other social media channels with links claiming to offer free gifts and vouchers.
The Mumbai Police have also warned people to beware of such messages.
Here are some tips to identify online scams and fraud and how you can stay safe.
You must not click on unverified links.
Avoid promotional emails, messages from non-recognised brands.
If there’s any grammatical error in such scam emails or messages you must not believe them and delete them immediately.
You must shop only from verified websites.
Always ensure to re-check messages or emails claiming to offer free gifts or goodies.
News Sources: BGR