Spot the Scam: Thanksgiving, BestBuy, EBT Card, Black Friday, Ray-Ban, Apple ID, and MORE!

This article is from Trend Micro.

Received text messages about Thanksgiving giveaways? Emails saying your Apple ID is locked? Beware of the latest phishing scams!

Posing as big recognizable companies, scammers try their best to lure you into clicking on phishing links they include in text messages and emails.

The scammers’ ultimate goal is to steal your personal information. The phishing links often lead to fake online survey pages that state you can claim a gift by completing an online questionnaire.

Or, in other instances, the links take you to fake log-in pages impersonating various brands, featuring fake online application forms. These pages require you to submit log-in credentials to view your delivery status, change your settings, or do whatever else the scammers have said that you need to do.

Scammers can record all the credentials you enter on these pages and use them to commit cybercrimes. For example, they could hack into your account and withdraw your money, and even use your information to commit identity theft. Don’t let them!

SMS Phishing

Thanksgiving Giveaway

Thanksgiving is right around the corner. As is tradition, scammers have been falsely claiming they are holding Thanksgiving giveaways and asking people to click on links that lead to fake online survey pages:

• Happy Thanksgiving from \/\/algreens! You’re getting, $200 & doubIe baIance points! Get yours by, 11/O6 <URL>
• Happy Thanksgiving from C\/S! You are getting $1OO in XtraCare bucks! Get them by, 11/O5 <URL>
• CeIebrate Thanksgiving w/ Sams C|ub! Here’s $2OO + a 1 year membership, on us! <URL>

After you fill out the survey, you are prompted to enter credit card numbers before your “gift” can be delivered. Of course, there’s no gift, and your credentials will end up in scammers’ hands:

Best Buy Survey

Best Buy giveaway scams featuring iPhone 13s have been occurring a lot lately, and here is the latest version. Be careful:

• John BestBuy is giving back to you! Get a free iPhone 13 here <URL>

EBT Card Phishing

Besides clicking on phishing links, scammers also instruct you to make phone calls – which lead to further phone scams. Falsely claiming your Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card is locked, they ask you to call a number to settle the issue. They will then try to trick you into revealing personal information or wiring money to them:

Black Friday Shopping Scams

Fake online shopping websites have been advertising their Black Friday deals two weeks in advance! As BBB reported, bogus online websites may provide products or services of low quality. In some cases, victims didn’t even receive the products they paid for. Here are some fake online shopping sites featuring Black Friday sales:

For more tips on shopping safely, please check out our online shopping safety guide.

Email Phishing

Sextortion Emails

We’ve reported on sextortion email scams before, but they never seem to disappear.

Sextortion emails, or blackmails, have been circulating online for years. Scammers falsely claim that your device is infected with malware and that they can spy on you. Then they say they’ve recorded you privately, urging you to pay an amount of money or else they will publish your photo, video, or other digital footprints.

Here are some examples:

The subjects and wordings in sextortion emails may vary, but most of the time, scammers demand bitcoins. If you receive one of these emails, please ignore it and delete it. Don’t follow the instructions. It is just a SCAM!

USPS Package Delivery

“Not possible to make delivery”? We’ve seen various package delivery scams. Posing as USPS, scammers send you a fake delivery notification and prompt you to view details via an embedded button:

Guess what? The hyperlink is a phishing link, leading you to a fake USPS login page.

Ray-Ban Black Friday Sales

We’ve spotted a lot of fake promotional emails featuring pretend Ray-Ban Black Friday sales recently:

Scammers lead you to a fake Ray-Ban website via the embedded link:

If you take a closer look, you will see that the web address is NOT the legitimate one. (The genuine Ray-Ban official website’s URL is www.ray-ban.com/).

Fake “Apple ID Locked” Notification

If you receive an email from Apple that says you have to reactivate your Apple ID, please be careful! In a new version of an Apple ID phishing scam, scammers send fake notification emails linked to Apple login phishing pages. If you click on the link and enter your Apple ID credentials there, scammers can gain access to your Apple account and use it for identity theft!

How to Protect Yourself

• Double-check the sender’s mobile number/email address.
• Free gifts or prizes are always a major red flag.
• Reach out to an organization’s customer service directly for help and support.
• NEVER click links or attachments from unknown sources. Use Trend Micro Check to detect scams with ease!

1. After you’ve pinned the Trend Micro Check browser extension, it will block dangerous sites for you automatically:

2. Send links or screenshots of suspicious text messages to Trend Micro Check on WhatsApp for immediate scam detection.

Don’t forget to add an extra layer of protection to your device with Trend Micro Maximum Security! It includes Web Threat Protection, Ransomware Protection, Anti-phishing, and Anti-spam Protection to help you combat scams and cyberattacks. Click the button below to give it a try:

Did you successfully spot the scams? Remember, always CHECK before giving out personal information. If you found this article helpful or interesting, please SHARE it to help protect your friends and family!