Police issue scam alert over false Walmart survey

Tue, November 11, 2008
Posted in Metro News

Yesterday, the Anchorage Police Department became aware of an e-mail, credit card scam involving a false Walmart satisfaction survey.

The e-mail message begins with “You have been selected to access the Walmart 2 Steps and Survey and win a $150 gift certificate.” The victim then clicks a link to a false website. After filling out a phoney survey, the victims are asked to list their credit card number, expiration date, verification value and PIN, supposedly so the $150 can be credited to their accounts. Armed with that credit card information, the scam artists can raid the victims’ accounts. The manager of the Anchorage midtown Walmart told police that the store never sends out e-mail requests soliciting confidential credit card information.

If you receive this e-mail or any other suspicious, unsolicited e-mails asking for personal information, please report them at the Internet Crime Complaint Center. That’s the official website for reporting online crime.

Comments

4 Responses to “Police issue scam alert over false Walmart survey”

Colleen on November 19, 2008 at 7:34 am

I received one of these emails today. I clicked on the link it provides: http://mail.bytechindia.com:81/Store/WalMart/survey.php
And it asked me to fill out the survey and enter my credit card information. People must be crazy to blindly enter their credit card info on something like this! But yet, it still happens. I immediately typed ‘walmart scam survey’ into Google and found a bunch of articles about it. Looks like it may have started in Alaska. I’m in Reno, NV & will send out a warning to friends & fam so they don’t fall into the trap.
Patty on January 15, 2009 at 8:14 am

My husband forwarded an email like this to me today. It wasn’t hard to figure out that it was a scam- the grammar alone was a give-away, as was the fact that it didn’t take you to an official walmart website. I’m glad he asks me to check these things out before he clicks on them!
Carrie on January 15, 2009 at 9:59 am

I received this today through my work’s firewall! Seemed fishy so I googled it and the scam information was all over the place. I really don’t know who would enter their credit card information but on the other hand, I am constently sending scam notices to my friends who forward this kind of junk to me. Even smart people get fooled-don’t be fooled be informed!
Melinda on February 23, 2009 at 7:14 am

I recieved this email today and asked a few of my co-workers what they would do. (i did not mention that i already new it was a scam). Surprisingly, if they would have recieved this email they probably would have submitted the information. Please inform your co-workers, friends, and family to insure everyone is well informed about internet safety.