Don't fall for this Black Friday WhatsApp scam
A WhatsApp chain message encouraging people to take a survey in order to win a voucher from SPAR is totally fake, the supermarket chain confirmed on Tuesday.
WhatsApp chain messages can cause quite a lot of trouble, especially if they encourage users to recruit others into a scheme or lead people to suspicious websites. Regular warnings about how to spot a scam are issued to the public, but now and then an offer pops up on your phone that seems too good to miss out on.
That is the case with the latest SPAR WhatsApp chain message, which directs users to a fake website with the promise of rewarding them with a Black Friday voucher worth R2,999.
Friends, the WhatsApp message about Spar giving R2 999 coupons is false, as @BISouthAfrica explains in this article. Please read and share. https://t.co/CsCBEST6Ti
— tshiamo malatji (@tshiatji) November 13, 2018
The message that has been circulating on the popular application reads as follows: "*SPAR* in honor of "Black Friday" in November, is giving away the free coupons worth R2999. I just received my coupon" [sic]
The website that the message leads users to is lupx.info/spar. It is a fake website that contains a fake survey. After completing this survey the only paltry reward that awaits is "an automatic redirect to an advertising network that attempts to hijack the browser homepage, which in turn serves up advertising pages for a variety of scams and dubious products".
SPAR warned its customers against the message and the website, emphasising that people should not follow the link or give away their personal details.
It is believed that the message started circulating in South Africa on 8 November, two weeks before the big Black Friday sales begin. This may be why some people have fallen for it: they are keen to get their hands on bargains.
Have you seen this message coming across your own WhatsApp groups?