How to spot scams like "Walmart Loyalty Program"

What kind of scam is "Walmart Loyalty Program"?

We have analyzed this site and found that it is running a survey scam. It shows a deceptive message claiming that visitors have been chosen to participate in a survey and will win a prize. People who fall for such scams never receive any prizes. Thus, the "Walmart Loyalty Program" scam should be ignored.

"Walmart Loyalty Program" survey scam in detail

Scammers behind this survey scam attempt to trick visitors into believing that they will win an iPad Pro if they answer a couple of questions. They claim that ten people are randomly chosen to win various prizes every Thursday. Their scam site has a countdown timer showing how much time is left to participate in a survey to encourage visitors to participate without thinking too long.

Also, this scam survey includes a list of reviews left by other users who supposedly have already won prizes by answering questions on the page. After answering the provided questions and choosing the "right" box, this scam page shows a deceptive pop-up message.

That message says that a visitor has won the iPad Pro (or other prizes) and provides further instructions. It claims that the visitor will be redirected to a website of certified distributors and asked to enter his home address and pay a $1 shipping fee to receive the prize.

The opened page requests to provide first and last names, email address, phone number, home address, city, state, and zip code. Also, it may ask to provide credit card details and (or) transfer $1 to scammers.

Threat Summary:

Name	Walmart Loyalty Program survey scam
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Participants will receive a prize
Disguise	Survey held by Walmart
Related Domain	quick-rewards[.]xyz
Detection Names (quick-rewards[.]xyz)	Avast (Phishing), Forcepoint ThreatSeeker (Suspicious), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal)
Serving IP Address	172.67.145.178
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.
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"Walmart Loyalty Program" scam in general

This survey scam is used to extract money and sensitive information from people. Whoever provides information on such pages and (or) pays "shipping", "administration" (or other) fees never receives any prizes. Usually, these scams are disguised as legitimate surveys held by legitimate companies (in this case, Walmart).

Examples of similar scams are "Walmart Gift Card POP-UP Scam", "T-Mobile Customer Reward Program POP-UP Scam", and "AMAZON TRIAL POP-UP Scam".

How did I open a scam website

Typically, users open websites that show deceptive messages via shady advertisements, sites that use rogue advertising networks (e.g., illegal movie streaming pages, torrent sites), and notifications from pages like sulseerg[.]com and other untrustworthy websites.

Sometimes, pages running various scams are promoted via adware and social media platforms. In all cases, users do not visit them on purpose.

How to avoid visiting scam pages?

Remember that when something sounds too good to be true, it is probably not. Do not trust links and ads on suspicious websites, and never agree to receive notifications from such pages. Download applications from official pages and stores.

Double-check emails containing website links. Avoid visiting unreliable pages. Read reviews before installing applications. If your computer is already infected with unwanted apps, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate them.

The appearance of "Walmart Loyalty Program" pop-up scam (GIF):

Text presented in "Walmart Loyalty Program" scam page:

Loyalty Program  
8 December, 2022
Congratulations!
Today, 8 December 2022, you have been chosen to participate in our survey. It will only take you a minute and you will receive a fantastic prize: a iPad Pro!

Each Thursday we randomly choose 10 users to give them a chance to win amazing prizes. Today's prize is a iPad Pro! There will be 10 lucky winners. This promotion is only valid for United States!

This survey aims to improve the quality of service for our users and your participation will be rewarded 100%.

You only have 2 minutes and 58 seconds, to answer this survey!

Hurry up, the number of prizes available is limited!

Screenshot of the website used to steal information:

Another example of Walmart-themed scam website:

Text presented within:

Walmart Rewards

Online Rewards Program

[1] iPad Pro is pending

October 4, 2023

Your Reward Program Profile ID is #422-790-218.

Every Wednesday we randomly select 30 lucky customers in United States to take a short online survey. It includes 9 questions that can be completed within 30s or less. In this way, we can know how to improve the products and services, and keep them outstanding.

You are today's lucky customer! To thank you for your participation, we will offer you the iPad Pro with $1 only. First come, first served.

Attention: 24 lucky customers have completed the survey today. Only 2 prizes left.

You have 4 minutes and 54 seconds to answer the 9 questions. Hurry up!

Another example of a website (skystarsfavouritetra4ffic[.]top) promoting Walmart giveaway-themed scam:

Text presented within:

Dear lucky customer,

Congratulations! You are selected by Walmart Online Rewards Program. You have [1] iPad Pro pending now. You can claim it after completing our satisfaction survey.

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Quick menu:

• What is Walmart Loyalty Program survey scam?
• 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?

It is a scam where a shady website displays a fake message (e.g., fake virus, error, or other alerts) designed to trick visitors into performing certain actions.

What is the purpose of a pop-up scam?

Scammers use pop-up scams to extract money and (or) sensitive information, to trick visitors into paying for fake or unnecessary software or services, downloading potentially malicious software, providing remote access to computers, etc.

Why do I encounter fake pop-ups?

Fake/deceptive pop-up messages are delivered by untrustworthy websites that most users open unintentionally. Users get redirected to these sites by rogue applications installed on computers or while visiting pages that use rogue advertising networks. Also, pages running pop-up scams often get opened via notifications from shady websites.

Will Combo Cleaner protect me from pop-up scams?

Combo Cleaner scans visited websites and detect untrustworthy ones, including deceptive pages running pop-up scams. Thus, it will warn you about untrustworthy pages and restrict access to them.

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