“Congratulations! You’ve won 1^st place in our AirPods raffle. Claim your gift here…” Sound familiar?

How raffle/survey scams work

Impersonating famous brands, scammers send text messages with phishing links, falsely claiming they are hosting raffle campaigns celebrating anniversaries, or giving away gifts randomly. They tell people that they’ve won prizes (iPhones, iPads, or other expensive products) and instruct them to claim the gifts via the attached links.

What happens next? The links lead to fake online survey pages that say before you can receive the gift you need to fill out the survey. There is always a countdown timer rushing you to take action, too:

After you’ve completed the survey, you need to enter a delivery address and credit card details to claim the gift.

Guess what? The gift will never appear and your credentials have been stolen by the scammers, which they can use to commit identity theft or other cybercrimes.

Safety Tip: use Trend Micro Check to check web addresses!

We’ve spotted even more scam cases! Have you come across any of them?

Hot raffle/survey scams

Here are some examples of hot online survey scams we’ve detected recently. Have you received anything similar?

GroupMe

• Congratulation! You are one of the 100 users we have selected to try to win the Apple iPad Pro & Magic Keyboard + Apple TV 12 months. Receive Now: iPad[.]myluckyday[.]site/ Hurry up to pick up your prize today!

Best Buy

• You W0N! The lPH0NE13 PR0 just came out, and you get a courtesy one here today only <URL>

Walmart

• we now have stores in more than 380 countries and celebrate it by giving out 38 electronic devices to 38 lucky people. it is with great pleasure that we can inform you that we have chosen you! <URL>
• we celebrate our 38th anniversary by giving out 38 electronic devices. we are pleased to inform you that you are one of the selected! <URL>

T-Mobile

• cellular ticket# 31353877, you won the__t.qmobile-_crazy_sweet lottery! expires eod <URL>
• wireless ticket-# 42995027, you won the_t–.vmobile-good fortune surprise-giftaway! ends-eod <URL>

Costco

• Costco: maggie, the  code 92137 printed on your receipt from  10 came in 2nd in our iPad Pro: <URL>

 AT&T

• ATT Free Msg: Congrat to 2 lucky users! Today’s winners of our draw are: Dean Nelson and you, Leon! Arrange delivery: <URL>

Amazon

• Amazon: Congratulations Joseph, you came in 1st in today’s Amazon pods raffle! Click the link to : <URL>

How to Protect Yourself

• Double-check the sender’s mobile number/email address.
• Free gifts or prizes are always a major red flag.
• Reach out to an organization’s customer service directly for help and support.
• NEVER click links or attachments from unknown sources. Use Trend Micro Check to detect scams with ease!

Download Trend Micro Maximum Security for even greater protection, including Web Threat Protection, Ransomware Protection, Anti-phishing, and Anti-spam Protection.

Gain access to the Privacy Scanner for Facebook and Twitter, Social Networking Protection, and Parental Controls, too. Click the button below to give it a try:

Did you successfully spot the scams? Remember, always CHECK before giving out personal information. If you found this article helpful and/or interesting, please SHARE it to help protect your friends and family!