In the past few days, lots of Vodafone users have received text messages directing them to a website to redeem unspent Vodafone points. Lots of people are wondering if the text is legit. Well, the short answer is NO. Read on for more details about this scam, and check out tips on how to stay protected.
Vodafone Unspent Points Scam Texts
Launched in 1985, the giant telecommunication company is being impersonated by scammers. The phishing text messages state thats recipients have limited time to redeem their unspent points. Then requests that they click on a link to redeem the points.
The content of the text message;
Hi from Vodafone; We’ve notice that the Vodafone points in your account (5340 points) will expire in 3 workingdays. please redeem the points for available rewards in time. Visit (link redacted) for moreinformation
The text message has the following red flags;
- It doesn’t come from the numbers Vodafone use. You can verify the number with this Vodafone lookup tool here.
- Vodafone will never ask you to click on a link
- It contains grammatical errors (the words in bold letters)
How The Vodafone Redeem Points Reward Scam Works
This text message scam falls into the category of ‘Phishing’ and ‘website spoofing’. The goal of this scam is to get recipients to click on the malicious link in the text. Clicking on the link directs users to a spoofed Vodafone website which would ask for a small credit card fee of £0.10.
This is just a tactic to get people’s credit card details and steal funds off their credit card account. Recipients who provide their credit card info would become a victim of credit card fraud.
Vodafone Response
Vodafone has addressed the scam and issued the following warning to customers via their website;
Please be aware of scam messages being sent to Vodafone customers using android devices. The message content relates to Vodafone points redemption scheme. Vodafone are not sending these messages and this is a scam – please DO NOT click on the link.
They further advise customers not to click on any links within the message and to forward any spam texts to 7726 – our free spam text reporting service.
What To Do About this Phishing
Do Not Click On The Link
Don’t attempt to click on the link no matter how legit it looks. Clicking links inside a scam email or text message would either direct you to a fraudulent website or install malware into your device.
Block The Sender Number
The final step you should take is blocking the number that sent the email. You can do this by flagging the telephone number as spam.
Delete
Deleting the text message will prevent you from mistakenly replying to it.
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