Waitrose voucher scam on WhatsApp: how to tell it’s fake

Rights, Scams and Politics

Updated on 30 January 2018 | 0 Comments

Shoppers are being targeted with a Waitrose voucher scam designed to steal personal information.

A new Waitrose voucher scam is doing the rounds on WhatsApp, police are warning.

The scam message claims to offer a free £250 gift voucher to anyone, inviting people to follow a link and fill out a form in order to claim theirs.

The link is designed to look like it’ll take you to the Waitrose website, but actually takes you to one hosted by criminals with the aim of harvesting your personal information.

As regular loveMONEY readers will know, fake supermarket vouchers are a common tactic employed by criminals.

Dorset Police Cyber Crime Unit tweeted a screengrab of the latest con, warning people who received the message to delete it immediately.

As mentioned in the tweet, closer inspection of the url provides an indication that the offer is indeed fake.

But perhaps a more obvious sign is the shoddy grammar throughout the message (“voucher worth of £250”).

What’s more, a supermarket is hardly going to hand out £250 worth of vouchers to everyone.

That wouldn’t exactly make for a profitable business – even once you factor in the prices at Waitrose!

If you receive a voucher and want to check it's genuine, you could always contact the supermarket in question and ask them.

Just be sure to look up their details yourself rather than using any contact information or links contained in the offer.

And finally, remember you don't have to wait for a voucher to come along in order to get a good deal at the supermarket: simply take a look at our roundup of the best food and drink deals each week.

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