Hi there,
tellows would like to inform you about the latest threats of Black Friday! Christmas is coming and it is time to shop for our loved ones, however, we also have to protect ourselves from the scammers.
Below let’s have a look at the most common holiday scams: please don’t fall victim to them!
1. You just won this prize! Scam
The scammers will inform you that you are very lucky and selected for this prize. And they may start asking for your personal or financial information, as it is the required information to get the prize. Note that this type of call is likely a scam. We selected some comments related to the lottery scam on tellows.
Number: 0019562307684| tellows Score: 7
Jsmooth: ‘Called to say I had won a lottery prize of $8,000,000 and change. Plus a new Mercedes-Benz. Wants me to pay tax on winnings. Suppose to be 1%. Says $500.00 on a gift card. I said I had been scammed with the gift card trick. He hung-up. Called him self David Whitehead. Same accent for all of these’s calls’
Number: 0018442133445| tellows Score: 9
Ed R: ‘Robocall saying I’d won 4.8 million dollars from Readers Digest Sweepstakes but the prize was unclaimed. I never subscribed to RD or entered a sweepstakes. I did not call the number they wanted me to call.’
2. Gift card or Pre-paid card scam
This one is very similar to the one above. Scammer will tell you that the gift card you have purchased has problems or they need to confirm your information etc. When receiving these kind of calls, it is better to report the numbers on tellows. Let’s have a look at the comments on tellows again!
Number: 4146663639| tellows Score: 9
Unknown: ‘called to purchase gift cards to give to them. they told me not to talk to anyone. scam!’
Ways to stay away from phone scams:
1. Be Suspicious
When you receive unknown call and the caller asks for your personal or financial information, it is better to double check if you really have purchased that gift card or signed up for the prize draw before. Check with your bank or the relevant organization if you did sign up for it. If not, please leave a comment on tellows, so the others also know the scammer exists.
2. If the scammer keeps calling
We highly suggest you report the number to FTC or the police if this is the case. You can also consider changing your phone number to avoid the disturbance.
Other online scams related to the Black Friday
1. ‘Secret Sister’ gift exchange on Facebook
It targets at your personal information while deceiving 10 bucks from you, this scam is very popular on Facebook, please report it if you come across one.
2. Email and Social Media Deals
During Black Friday Sales there will be a lot of notification in your Email and social media. Please pay attention when clicking the link directing you to the sales page, updating your browsers to the latest version will help to block dangerous links.
3. ‘Too-good-to-be-true’ deals
Numbers of websites are advertising their products during the sales season. A big reduction of prices are most likely a scam. Please also check for the reviews (but also pay attention to the fake reviews) of the items before putting it into your shopping cart.
4. ‘Lookalike’ sites
Scammers are imitating familiar brands and creating fraudulent web pages. Goods on the page may not exists or the scammers copy all the products from the genuine sites. Please pay attention to these kinds of sites and report it if you come across one.
tellows wishes you a nice week and don’t fall victim of phone scam! Have a look at the tellows app, it is available on both Android and iOS platform. If you have a question regarding our app please visit our FAQ page!
Your tellows team
