Local online retailer Loot (loot.co.za) has issued a warning to its shoppers on Twitter that scammers are using the company name for a fake giveaway.
Please note there is a scam of a company acting as Loot saying that customers have won an iPhone & need to pay R50 for delivery. Please note we wouldn’t make you pay for the delivery of a prize & if the competition is not listed on our social pages, it is not being run by Loot. pic.twitter.com/dZqz7Oqd7e
— lootcoza (@lootcoza) June 14, 2021
Strangely the tweet above makes specific mention of an iPhone, but the image of the scam message they showed doesn’t mention that specific device.
With the red line through it the message may be a bit hard to read:
As one of the selected customers, you have received our unique GIVEAWAY code! Your code contains one of the prizes. What can it be? We have 100 different prizes available such as Loot Gift Card, PlayStation 5, Samsung Smart TV, and Many others. Redeem your personal code to see what your prize is.
Needless to say, but if you see this message or some derivative of it in the future, stay well clear.
As the saying goes there’s no such thing as a free lunch so always be weary when someone tells you you have won something you never entered in the first place.
Another telltale sign of a scam is asking for some kind of processing or delivery fee. Most big companies will roll any legitimate fees into the cost of entry (if it’s something like a raffle) or it will simply pay for those costs on its end for a better customer experience.
If you’re still unsure about these kinds of things you can read our guide to spotting online scams here.