Asda 'Christmas Prize Draw': it’s a scam

Texts claiming you're the winner of an Asda 'Christmas Prize Draw' are yet another supermarket scam. Avoid, delete and do not share.

Scammers are once again targeting people with a supermarket scam.

Those targeted have received texts claiming to be from Asda, saying that they won a prize in a Christmas Prize Draw. 

Hey Gemma, You're right! So sorry you received these messages. They're not genuine messages from Asda. Please do not engage and I would advise deleting them. Thanks, H

— Asda Service Team (@AsdaServiceTeam) January 21, 2019

As Asda have been quick to note, these texts are scams. There was no Christmas Prize Draw, nor prize winners.

Those who click on the link and fill in their details will have those details harvested by scammers. 

How to spot the Asda prize draw is fake

If the scammer believed that telling people they were 3rd in the prize draw would make the text more convincing, they were wrong.

But even if you fell for that, there are other signs this offer is suspect.

The first is the URL: why isn't it Asda's website? (Although beware as scammers can make convincing websites - see below).

Other signs are that the 'Christmas' draw took place on New Year's Eve and the '0' instead of 'O' in 'Prize Draw 0n 31.12.18'.

However, rather than relying on suspect spelling, it's best to treat all such 'giveaway' messages with scepticism, whether by text, Whatsapp, email or call.

Don't rely on criminals not knowing your name: with social media, it's not that difficult to find out.

Never click on the link - instead, report it to the retailer concerned and the police's Action Fraud organisation.

Supermarket voucher scams UK: how to tell if a voucher, coupon or prize is fake

The Asda voucher scam

Asda has been the subject of several scams, most recently a fake Asda £250 coupon giveaway.

The ruse is that, to celebrate Asda’s 68^th anniversary, the supermarket giant is offering everyone a free £250 voucher.

All you need to do is click on a link and fill in your details.

Sadly, it's a fake and anyone who does so will have their details harvested by scammers.

Below is a screengrab of how the scam looks when sent in WhatsApp. If you can’t read it clearly, click on the image to see a larger version.

It’s not obvious to everyone

Some readers are often quick to tell us these messages are so obviously fake that it’s not even worth us writing about them.

But the truth is it’s not so obvious to everyone.

We often hear about these scams when readers send them over, believing they're genuine offers.

Ultimately, and depressingly, scammers wouldn’t keep sending these out if they weren’t successfully snaring victims.

If you are sent a scam message, do let that person know of the danger and the importance of not sharing it elsewhere.

If you want to see more examples of common scams, take a look at our mega supermarket voucher scam roundup.