Amazon is used by millions of people in the UK and overseas, which unfortunately gives scammers a wide range of individuals to potentially exploit. It appears a new scam concerning Amazon and a raffle prize has cast its net wide, attempting to target individuals via text message at the click of a button. Many people have reported receiving a text which states they have won AirPods – an Apple product – in a recent prize draw.
The text reads: “Amazon: Congratulations [NAME], you came in 2nd in March’s Amazon pods raffle! Click this link.”
This particular message actually contains a person’s first name, which may add to the idea of legitimacy.
The text message then contains a link which customers are prompted to follow in order to claim their supposed prize.
However, the link which is contained within this text message actually redirects individuals to a dangerous website.
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Understandably, this could have major financial implications for those who are impacted, and as a result, Britons should be on their guard.
Amazon has described the problem as “smishing” – specifically where unsuspecting individuals are targeted by text message scams.
The official Amazon will never ask individuals to make a payment outside of their website, nor will they ask for personal information.
The organisation said: “Legitimate Amazon websites have a dot before ‘amazon.com’.
“If the link takes you to a site that is not a legitimate Amazon domain, then it is likely phishing.”
People should be particularly on their guard as Amazon approaches its 26th anniversary, as it appears this is a technique scammers are using to make a prize seem more likely.
Several individuals urged people to be on the lookout for this kind of scam – operating off the principle that if an offer seems too good to be true, then it probably is.
One person warned: “Warning. New scam going around. You get text message saying you won AirPods from Amazon.
“Don’t click the link, it’s a phishing scam.”
Another said: “Warning – robot text scam! Amazon text said I won AirPods. They used my real name in this text. Don’t touch the link!”
A third penned: “Please report, delete and block any text like this you receive. No one wins free stuff from a raffle they never heard of.”
And a fourth stated: “Definitely not clicking this link. Spam, spam, spam. Not actually Amazon. Blocked the number.
“If you get a text like this, do NOT click the link! So sick of scam spam!”
