BBB warns of text offer for free gift card
Staff report
YOUNGSTOWN
The Youngstown Better Business Bureau is warning area residents of a scam that appears to offer them a free Walmart gift card.
The BBB says it is an instance of “smishing” — a hybrid version of phishing, a data-mining practice, and SMs, or short messaging — and should be treated as a scam.
Those with cellphones may receive a text message that reads: “You just won a free $1,000 Walmart Gift Card, enter “1000” at http://promocenter.ws/walmart.”
Consumers who complete the gift-card program then will receive free-trial offers, surveys and increased volumes of junk mail.
The BBB urges anyone receiving this text message to contact their cellphone carrier, delete the text message and refrain from providing any personal information, including credit-card numbers.
On its website, the retail giant warns, “Walmart will never initiate a text message where we ask for sensitive personal data like credit-card information or Social Security numbers.”