Avoid being scammed by "Dear YouTube user, Congratulations!"

What is "Dear YouTube user, Congratulations!"?

"Dear YouTube user, Congratulations!" is a scam, which is promoted on deceptive sites. It operates by claiming that visitors have been selected as one of "10 lucky YouTube watchers" to claim a prize in the form of an Amazon or Walmart gift-card.

At the time of research, this scam simply redirected to a web page stating "Thank You", however, such scams are employed to trick users into revealing their personal information (e.g. bank accounts or credit card details, names, email addresses, etc.) and/or making monetary transactions, (e.g. fake prizes/gift shipping fees and similar payments).

Few visitors to deceptive websites enter them intentionally - most are redirected by intrusive ads or dubious apps already infiltrated into the system. Note that unwanted apps do not require express permission to be installed onto users' devices.

More about the "Dear YouTube user, Congratulations!" scam

Visitors to sites running "Dear YouTube user, Congratulations!" first see a pop-up window with text greeting them as "YouTube users" and informing them that, in celebration of the YouTube platform reaching a daily view-count of one billion, they have been chosen as one of 10 winners to claim a prize.

This reward is supposedly an Amazon or Walmart gift-card, equivalent to $1000 USD. The message instructs users to click "OK" and answer a few questions to proceed. The four questions are multi-choice and relate to the YouTube platform - queries concerning the regularity of use/visits, preferred content and opinion/relevance of the advertisements.

This page also urges people to hurry, by claiming that the available prizes are limited. Below the questions are fake comments from other "winners". The design of this panel is reminiscent of Facebook comments, an attempt on the scammers' part to further the impression of legitimacy.

Once the survey is completed, the scam claims to take inventory of the available gifts. Following this, users are provided with steps about how to receive their prizes, which have apparently been reserved for them. Step one instructs them to click the "Claim" button below the gift, and step two to provide their shipping information on the next web page.

Users are once more urged to hurry, which contradicts the previous statement (i.e., the nonexistent prize being reserved), indicating that the number of available gifts is limited.

During research, the "Claim" button redirected to a page thanking users, with no additional information or fields to provide the requested details, however, from the format of the scam, it is clear that it was intended to be a phishing attempt via which users' sensitive information is stolen.

Furthermore, similar schemes tend to ask users to pay the shipping fees of their bogus prizes - this is likely to have been the intent behind "Dear YouTube user, Congratulations!". Note that this is not a legitimate prize giveaway and is in no way connected to YouTube or the legitimate Amazon/Walmart companies.

The promised rewards do no exist and trusting these scams can lead to serious issues. Being tricked by schemes such as "Dear YouTube user, Congratulations!" can endanger users' privacy and financial information.

Apps promoting similar scams

As mentioned, deceptive/scam sites are often accessed through redirects caused by rogue apps, however, these applications can also force-open sale-oriented, untrusted, rogue, compromised and even malicious websites. These apps have varied capabilities, which are not limited to generating redirects.

They can run intrusive ad campaigns, which diminish the browsing experience and deploy harmful ads (e.g. pop-up, banners, surveys, etc.). Other types can modify browsers, limit/deny access to settings and promote fake search engines. Shady apps commonly have data-tracking capabilities, regardless of their other specifications.

These unwanted applications monitor browsing activity (browsing and search engine histories) and gather users' personal information (IP addresses, geolocations and other details). This information is typically shared with third parties, seeking to misuse it for profit. Such apps often seem legitimate and boast a wide variety of features, which are usually nonoperational.

Despite their outward appearance, they can cause serious problems. The presence of unwanted apps on a device can thus lead to browser/system infiltration and infections, financial loss, serious privacy issues and even identity theft. To ensure device/user safety, remove all suspect applications and browser extensions/plug-ins must be removed immediately.

Threat Summary:

Name	Dear YouTube user, Congratulations! pop-up
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud.
Fake Claim	Scam claims visitors have won a prize.
Related Domains	rewardsawesome[.]com
Serving IP Address (rewardsawesome[.]com)	91.224.58.27
Detection Names (rewardsawesome[.]com)	Fortinet (Phishing), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal)
Symptoms	Fake error messages, fake system warnings, pop-up errors, hoax computer scan.
Distribution methods	Compromised websites, rogue online pop-up ads, potentially unwanted applications.
Damage	Loss of sensitive private information, monetary loss, identity theft, possible malware infections.
Malware Removal (Windows)	To eliminate possible malware infections, scan your computer with legitimate antivirus software. Our security researchers recommend using Combo Cleaner. ▼ Download Combo Cleaner To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Similar scams in general

"Congratulations Walmart shopper!", "Dear Chrome User, Congratulations!" and "YOU ARE THE CHOSEN!" are some examples of scams similar to "Dear YouTube user, Congratulations!". The purpose of these schemes is to encourage visitors into performing specific actions to generate revenue at their expense.

There are many scam models as well as gift/prize giveaways. Popular ones include "amazing offers", warnings of fake threats detected on the device and similarly false alerts of vital software being out-of-date, etc.

Scams often incorporate the titles and/or design elements of large multinational platforms, service providers, companies and similar - to is do that they can reach a broad range of potential victims and appear genuine. Therefore, caution when browsing is strongly advised.

How did unwanted applications install on my computer?

Some of these apps have "official" download pages, which are frequently promoted by deceptive/scam sites. They are also commonly downloaded/installed together with other programs. This deceptive marketing method of pre-packing regular products with unwanted or malicious software is called "bundling".

When downloading/installing, ignoring the terms, skipped steps, using presets increases the risk of inadvertently allowing bundled content onto devices. Intrusive advertisements also proliferate these applications. Once clicked, they can execute scripts to download/install rogue apps without users' consent.

How to avoid installation of unwanted applications

You are advised to only use official and verified download sources. Avoid untrusted download channels such as free file-hosting websites, Peer-to-Peer sharing networks and other third party downloaders, as they offer deceptive and/or bundled content.

When downloading/installing, read the terms, explore all available options, use the "Custom/Advanced" settings and opt-out of additional apps, tools, functions and so on. Intrusive ads tend to appear normal and harmless, however, they can redirect to highly dubious web pages (e.g. pornography, adult-dating, gambling, etc.).

If you encounter ads/redirects of this kind, inspect the system and remove all suspicious applications and/or browser extensions/plug-ins without delay. If your computer is already infected with unwanted apps, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate them.

Text presented in "Dear YouTube user, Congratulations!" scam pop-up:

Dear YouTube user,

Monday, January 27, 2020

Congratulations! In celebration of 1 BILLION hours of YouTube watched everyday, we have selected you as one of 10 lucky YouTube users to claim a $1000 Amazon Gift Card or a $1000 Walmart Gift Card!

Click OK to answer our questions below and claim your prize!

Screenshots of the questions:

Text presented in these pages:

Monday, January 27, 2020

Answer our questions below to claim your gift card!

Important: Hurry, only (3) prizes remaining!

 

Question 1/4:

How often do you visit Youtube?

  Multiple times a day
  Multiple times a week
  Multiple times a month
 
Question 2/4:

What content do you most often watch?

  Entertainment
  Music Videos
  Education

 

Question 3/4:

Are the advertisements you see on Youtube relevant to your interests?

  Yes
  Sometimes
  Not at all
 
Question 4/4:
What do you think of the advertisements you see on Youtube?

  Irritating
  I like them
  I am not interested

Screenshot of the page displayed after the survey is complete:

Text presented in this page:

Monday, January 27, 2020

Thank you for answering our questions!

Please wait while we check your answers

Checking available rewards and stock...

REACTIONS

Screenshot of the prize claim page:

Text presented in this page:

Thank you for helping us out, (1) $1000 Gift Card has now been reserved for you.

Step 1: Click the "Claim" button.

Step 2: Enter your shipping information on the next page to claim your prize.

Important: Hurry, limited quantities available.

$1000 Amazon gift card
Claim ❯
Remaining: 1

$1000 Walmart Gift Card

Claim ❯
Remaining: 2

The appearance of "Dear YouTube user, Congratulations!" pop-up (GIF):

Yet another variant of "Dear YouTube user, Congratulations!" pop-up scam:

Text presented within:

Dear Unknown Unknown user,

Thursday, August 31, 2023

Congratulations Unknown Unknown user! In celebration of 1 BILLION hours of YouTube watched everyday, National Consumer Center has selected you as one of 10 users in Charlotte to claim $100 WALMART GIFT CARD!

Click OK to answer our questions below and claim your prize!

Appearance of this "Dear YouTube user, Congratulations!" scam variant (GIF):

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Quick menu:

• What is Dear YouTube user, Congratulations! pop-up?
• How to identify a pop-up scam?
• How do pop-up scams work?
• How to remove fake pop-ups?
• How to prevent fake pop-ups?
• What to do if you fell for a pop-up scam?

How to identify a pop-up scam?

Pop-up windows with various fake messages are a common type of lures cybercriminals use. They collect sensitive personal data, trick Internet users into calling fake tech support numbers, subscribe to useless online services, invest in shady cryptocurrency schemes, etc.

While in the majority of cases these pop-ups don't infect users' devices with malware, they can cause direct monetary loss or could result in identity theft.

Cybercriminals strive to create their rogue pop-up windows to look trustworthy, however, scams typically have the following characteristics:

• Spelling mistakes and non-professional images - Closely inspect the information displayed in a pop-up. Spelling mistakes and unprofessional images could be a sign of a scam.
• Sense of urgency - Countdown timer with a couple of minutes on it, asking you to enter your personal information or subscribe to some online service.
• Statements that you won something - If you haven't participated in a lottery, online competition, etc., and you see a pop-up window stating that you won.
• Computer or mobile device scan - A pop-up window that scans your device and informs of detected issues - is undoubtedly a scam; webpages cannot perform such actions.
• Exclusivity - Pop-up windows stating that only you are given secret access to a financial scheme that can quickly make you rich.

Example of a pop-up scam:

How do pop-up scams work?

Cybercriminals and deceptive marketers usually use various advertising networks, search engine poisoning techniques, and shady websites to generate traffic to their pop-ups. Users land on their online lures after clicking on fake download buttons, using a torrent website, or simply clicking on an Internet search engine result.

Based on users' location and device information, they are presented with a scam pop-up. Lures presented in such pop-ups range from get-rich-quick schemes to fake virus scans.

How to remove fake pop-ups?

In most cases, pop-up scams do not infect users' devices with malware. If you encountered a scam pop-up, simply closing it should be enough. In some cases scam, pop-ups may be hard to close; in such cases - close your Internet browser and restart it.

In extremely rare cases, you might need to reset your Internet browser. For this, use our instructions explaining how to reset Internet browser settings.

How to prevent fake pop-ups?

To prevent seeing pop-up scams, you should visit only reputable websites. Torrent, Crack, free online movie streaming, YouTube video download, and other websites of similar reputation commonly redirect Internet users to pop-up scams.

To minimize the risk of encountering pop-up scams, you should keep your Internet browsers up-to-date and use reputable anti-malware application. For this purpose, we recommend Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows.

What to do if you fell for a pop-up scam?

This depends on the type of scam that you fell for. Most commonly, pop-up scams try to trick users into sending money, giving away personal information, or giving access to one's device.

• If you sent money to scammers: You should contact your financial institution and explain that you were scammed. If informed promptly, there's a chance to get your money back.
• If you gave away your personal information: You should change your passwords and enable two-factor authentication in all online services that you use. Visit Federal Trade Commission to report identity theft and get personalized recovery steps.
• If you let scammers connect to your device: You should scan your computer with reputable anti-malware (we recommend Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows) - cyber criminals could have planted trojans, keyloggers, and other malware, don't use your computer until removing possible threats.
• Help other Internet users: report Internet scams to Federal Trade Commission.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is a pop-up scam?

A pop-up scam is a deceptive and fraudulent tactic used by cybercriminals to trick users into believing they are interacting with legitimate websites or services through pop-up windows. These pop-ups are designed to appear as genuine notifications, alerts, or offers, often mimicking well-known brands, software updates, or official messages.

What is the purpose of a pop-up scam?

The ultimate goal of a pop-up scam is to manipulate users into taking actions that benefit the scammer, such as sharing personal information, making unauthorized payments, or downloading malware.

Why do I encounter fake pop-ups?

Pop-up scams come into view for users when their computers harbor questionable applications or when they visit websites such as unauthorized movie streaming platforms, torrent sites, or other pages that employ rogue advertising networks. Furthermore, these scams can be propagated through notifications that stem from untrustworthy websites, deceptive ads, and similar channels.

Will Combo Cleaner protect me from pop-up scams?

Combo Cleaner possesses the capability to conduct comprehensive scans of the websites you browse, including those that might have malicious intent. It has the ability to identify websites designed to showcase pop-up scams. Upon encountering such a website, Combo Cleaner promptly provides a warning and imposes restrictions.

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