Yahoo Finance Shoppers warn over 'dodgy' Woolworths email scam
Woolworths shoppers have been quick to spot a scam email going around, from someone pretending to be the supermarket giant’s “Fall Promo Director”.
People shared screenshots of the rather incongruous scam on social media to alert Woolworths and other shoppers.
Woolworths has confirmed this is a scam and is not associated with the company.
The phishing email promises customers “something special” as a thank you, if they click a link provided in the email.
“Thank you very much for your patronage over the past months,” the email says.
“It is fall and we want to celebrate that at Woolworths. That is why you will find something special waiting in your account.”
It is not “Fall” in Australia, it is Spring. Nor do Australian’s call Autumn “Fall”.
It was these details which helped people realise there was something fishy about the email, and that it was not a legitimate note from the company.
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“I believe this is a scam email because we are in Spring not Autumn,” one woman wrote on Facebook along with a screenshot of the email.
The email was signed by Woolworth’s “Fall Promo Director” and comes with a “personal code” and link to claim the special something.
A woman who shared the scam to the Woolworths Facebook page pointed out the email address of the sender is clearly not associated with Woolies.
While fraudsters cast a wide net, as far as this type of phishing scam goes, it was not very sophisticated.
“Looks as dodgy as,” another person who received the email remarked, adding they were posting it to bring awareness to the scam.
The fake email which customers have been receiving of late, meets some of the criteria Woolworths warns about regarding phishing scams.
“Phishing is a type of email scam where online criminals attempt to trick you into giving out your personal or financial information, which can then be used to steal your money or your identity,” Woolworths warns on its website.
Woolworths responded to one of the people who shared a screenshot of the dodgy email.
“We appreciate you reaching out to us and letting us know about this email,” the supermarket employee said.
“We're sorry to see that you've encountered a scam and we'd like to let you know that we've reported this to the ACCC's SCAM Watch.”
On the Woolworths website, it says “from time to time” emails, SMS and phone scams claim to be legitimate communications from Woolworths.
“They are often specially designed to look genuine, and often copy features from legitimate communications such as our logo and branding,” the company says.
“The links contained in these scam messages direct you to fake websites that will look like legitimate Woolworths branded websites, but will often have a slightly different address that is not associated with any of our brands.”
Scams which associated themselves with Woolworths can be forwarded to hoax@woolworths.com.au or by calling 1300 10 1234 and selecting option 1.
Scams can also be reported to the ACCC’s SCAM Watch.
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