A Runcorn woman has received two scam WhatsApp messages from two different friends who were convinced they were genuine. Both messages say that a big name supermarket is giving away a £250 voucher and contain the web link to enter the prize draw.
In both cases a real friend has forwarded the message to the 48-year-old. The web link looks genuine but careful readers will notice that there’s a very subtle difference – one letter has been replaced by a symbol.
In the example below the ‘d’ in Asda has been replaced with this symbol ‘đ’.
The other message was identical apart from the name of the supermarket that was supposedly running the draw. The scammer had replaced the letter ‘o’ in Tesco with this symbol Ó.
By substituting one letter with a symbol, the scammer is able to make the web address appear genuine. Clicking on the link will take you to the scammer’s website
Halton Borogh Counci’s Executive Board Member for Trading Standards, Cllr Dave Cargill, said: “These texts are scams. If you receive one of these messages, or anything similar, delete it without clicking on any links.
“If you or somebody you know has been caught out by a scam please contact one of our specialist officers, Linda or Sue on 0151 511 8785 or 0151 511 8775, who are already working with people in Halton who have lost thousands of pounds to scams. ”
If you need advice on anything else please contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline or 03454 04 05 06.