Argos and Sainsbury's shoppers have been warned to remain vigilant amid an air fryer scam currently targeting consumers.
The air fryer scam offers a free Ninja Air Fryer to users who participate in an online survey and then enter their card payment details to receive the free item. The convincing scam, according to secure card payments provider, Dojo is part of an e-mail phishing scam from fraudsters claiming to be the retailer, Argos.
The fraudulent e-mail comes as many as still keen to snap up an air fryers, usually at the cheapest price, as the cost of living crisis continues. The handy kitchen gadget can help cut the cost of energy bills as well as reducing cooking time.
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The latest scam sends people to a a website that appears to be the ‘official’ Argos page to complete the survey, but there are numerous red flags that consumers should be aware of giving a clear indication that it is in fact, not the real Argos website.
According to Dojo, the website address and email aren’t actually coming from Argos or Sainsbury’s official domain, and on top of this, the currency is in dollars. There is also a timer that warns the offer will disappear to add a sense of urgency to potential victims to encourage them to fill out the survey and input personal details.
The most recent email scam is a range of legitimate-looking communications through email, even text and social media which notify shoppers and businesses that they can get freebies by filling out a survey. The scam will then ask for card payment details to receive the free item.
Once they have the stolen card details, scammers then use them to make expensive online purchases and drain bank accounts, causing a a wide range of financial problems for victims.
An Argos spokesperson also added: “We are aware of this phishing scam and are working hard to take these sites down. These emails are not from Argos, we advise customers to delete and report them to us.
"We work hard to protect our customers and encourage them to be mindful of this type of scam, which often use household brand names. On background customers can report scams to us using the email address scams@sainsburys.co.uk. More information can be found here: Help & FAQs - How do I report a scam? (argos.co.uk)”
Naveed Islam, Chief Information Security Officer at Dojo also said: "A key warning sign for a scam is to entice consumers with free items that are just too good to be true. Quite often, these offers will be time-limited to cause extra pressure on victims to enter their bank details without necessarily double-checking the legitimacy of the offer, and this is what we can see in the Argos scam.
"With the recent Currys scam and now the scam moving onto other retailers including Argos, consumers should be extremely vigilant with any offers that they see in their inbox or on social media.
"If you have fallen victim to a scam, contact your bank immediately to suspend your card and account. Your bank or building society will then be able to provide specialist support from their scam unit. Ultimately, if you have any doubt about the authenticity of a text message or email, it’s probably a scam. Take a minute to think about the message; were you expecting it, have you checked for spelling mistakes and double-checked the sender's address?"
If the email address from the sender doesn’t look like it’s from a genuine address, don’t click on it. If you think it is a scam, you can forward the email as an attachment to Action Fraud who will investigate, or alternatively forward it to report@phishing.gov.uk.
How to spot a phishing email
Check the sender’s email address
Check out for spelling mistakes, extra letters, numbers and words that don’t relate to the company.
Although some fraudulent emails are highly sophisticated, many of them can be poorly worded and there are some tell-tale signs they’re not legitimate.
Check the formatting of the email
As well as wording, check the format of the e-mail such as plain-text emails with no branding – or brand logos replicated in low resolution. Experts recommend that you look back at your inbox to see if this matches the company’s typical communication designs.
Don’t rush to action their demands
Fraudsters like to create a sense of urgency and panic so that you act fast and have little time to think, meaning you may not even have time to consider whether or not it's a scam.
Whether it's clicking a suspicious link or providing your personal data, you should take time to review the email and research its legitimacy before taking action.
If you’ve already clicked the link, check the URL straight away and do not log in anywhere as scammers can capture your details to take over your account.
Never send sensitive data via emails or online links from emails or SMS
If you suspect you’ve been sent a phishing email, do not click on it.
Scammers often leave malicious links within the email that once clicked allow them to enter your computer’s system.
If you accidentally click on one of these emails you should change your passwords immediately and check your bank accounts regularly to make sure no money has disappeared. If this happens, alert your bank immediately and they will help you.
If you’re concerned about your work email account or laptop, you should contact your information security team straight away and tell them what has happened to avoid something going wrong.
Contact the company implicated
If you are still not sure, contact the company and they will be able to help you in telling you whether or not it was a legitimate e-mail or a scam.
It will also help them keep track of anything they may need to take action against to protect them and their customers. Quite often large brands will have dedicated teams investigating frauds affecting their customer base and damaging their brand reputation, so they will appreciate any information you can provide that can stop these fraudulent activities going forward.
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