New Amazon Lottery scam on the rise - don’t get finessed

Here’s another one to put on your “don’t fall for it” list - a text message from “Amazon” congratulating you on winning a Lottery. It might be an obvious one to some, but this new scam is spreading like wildfire and has already misled a considerable number of individuals who are registered with Amazon.

One of them, Brian Hunt, fell victim to this clever scheme after he received a text reading,

"Congratulations Brian, you came in second place in a recent Amazon raffle.” It was convincing enough. "I received a text message that I thought was from Amazon, telling me there was a giveaway, sweepstakes. I was going to get a free pair of AirPods; all I had to do was pay for shipping," He later reported.

After reading the message, he was thrilled to acquire his prize and decided to click on the link to a website that closely resembled Amazon. Sure enough, he had to enter his card details in order to receive the prize. You know, “for shipping .” Perhaps he would know it’s a scam right off the bat if it was anything other than Amazon - it was a creative setup.

Surprisingly, he actually received his prize a few days later. He opened the package and saw brand-new AirPods. Soon enough, Brian realized that they were some garbage, off-brand version of earphones that weren’t even made by Apple. Usually, scammers don’t send anything at all, but apparently, this one decided to throw in a complimentary “gift.” But there was more to come. Upon logging into his bank account, he discovered yet another fun surprise - a $100 charge.

"They were only asking for the shipping fee, which I think was $6," Hunt said...They charged me $6 for shipping, but then it was $99.50 a couple of days later." Hunter stated. "These sweepstakes and lottery scams, they use text messages, phone calls, social media, even email to sell the scam," Brian added. To this day, he is confused about how the scammer got his number in the first place.

Amazon is not conducting any sort of lotteries at the moment, and if there will be any in the future, related information will be displayed on the official website. Hundreds of people already reported this sham, and there’s not much that can be done about it in terms of refunds unless individual banks have a scam reimbursement policy.

Suchlike scams evolve with flying colors, and it’s crucial to do a double-take before losing money or having personal data compromised. If anyone ever asks for your social security, it’s a scam. Random text about a loved one needing money for surgery? Scam. Random links with urgent, panic-inducing messages? Scam. To stay on the safe side, just consider everything to be a scam until you’re 100% certain that it isn’t if you want to avoid tears and frustration. It’s 2021; trust nothing and no one.