In the News
In What’s up with these ‘Congratulations Amazon User’ pop-up ads?, Jack Morse discusses a common pop-up ad on Amazon claiming to provide users with a free Amazon gift card. Morse identifies this pop-up as a scam attempt and analyzes how such scams continue to occur on popular sites
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https://www.telapost.com/amazon-user-scam/
Our Take
The idea of free money is appealing…and unlikely. Scammers hope to distract attention from the unaffiliated URL or imperfect mockup of a big name brand by promising winnings, using exclamation points and bold lettering, and creating urgency around redemption of prizes. Such scams may occur as pop-ups in a browser, or may completely redirect an individual to a different page. This should alarm any user, as legitimate promotions from a company will most often be embedded in the site itself. Legitimate promotions should also be verifiable, meaning that you should be able to find out if the promotion is publically known by using a new tab to research the given promotion. It is exciting to feel as though you won a prize, but by complying with such pop-ups and ads, the real prize might be the scammers finding a new victim…you.
Recommendations
So how can you protect your yourself from scams like these?
- Refrain from clicking on any pop-ups or websites claiming to offer you financial gains
- Research promotions via your regular search engine or the homepages of sites claiming to be offering discounts or rewards
- Be aware of current scams taking place to prevent yourself from falling prey to one
- Some companies like Amazon provide tips on how to protect yourself from common scams on their sites