WhatsApp scam that claims to offer Amazon gifts is on rise

New Delhi: WhatsApp is one of the most popular ways to communicate in India. However, this medium can also be used by mischievous elements looking to rob users of their personal data or even commit financial fraud. A new scam seems to be doing the rounds looking for vulnerable WhatsApp users.

According to a report by a fact-checking website, Newsmeter, some WhatsApp users are receiving messages with a link that may look like it’s from Amazon’s official site at the first glance. The preview of the link claims to be celebrating Amazon 30th year anniversary. The link then takes the user to a page that also look like a webpage that belongs to Amazon’s domain.

On the webpage, the user is congratulated for being chosen for a survey, on the completion of which the user will get a Huawei Mate 40 Pro. The site even specifies the variant of the phone.

The listing claims that there will only be 100 winners. The site also creates a sense of urgency by placing a timer on the site, in order to create panic and trick the user into giving away some critical information through the survey.

The report suggests that despite being luckily ‘chosen’ users could repeatedly take the survey and in most cases be declared the winner. Readers are advised to refrain from clicking such links. In order to satisfy their curiosity, users can go to the official application (in this case Amazon) and then search for a link to such a competition. Else they will have to face lose.