In today’s article, we will be making you (the reader) aware of a new scam that has been circulating in multiple Facebook groups.
It’s the ALDI £200 for kids scam!
Cybercriminals are exploiting the current cost of living crisis to
What is the “ALDI £200 for kids” scam?
The ALDI £200 for kids scam sees the culprit posting a “Did anyone get the ALDI £200 for kids today ??” post into multiple Facebook groups and then the culprit will reply to their own post with this comment:
The objective of this scam is for users to click the associated sites.google.com URL and provide their card details to receive £200, this is the turning point of the scam that turns a user into a victim, because the scammer will use your details to steal funds from the account you have provided.
Not all of these are the same…
In-fact, there are multiple Facebook posts in groups that look like this:
In the above post, we see that the scammer is disguising as a normal user who wants to clarify if these ALDI posts are real or fake. They will then respond to themselves with the exact same phishing comment that takes users to a form that steals their card details and will in-turn steal their funds from them.
This scam isn’t all that new
Back in 2015, scammers took to sending phishing emails to a large number of users, requesting they complete a survey and submit their bank details to receive a money incentive.
ALDI is encouraging everyone not to fall for these scam Facebook posts, they will NEVER request bank details when asking for feedback and they are not giving away free money.
Please take the following actions based on the scenarios listed
1. I have just come across this post on Facebook, do I need to worry?
No, if you haven’t clicked any associated links then you don’t need to worry about your data being stolen. But we do ask that you spread awareness on the scam to keep people educated and safe.
2. I have clicked on the link but haven’t submitted any information, what do I do?
If you haven’t submitted any information, then your data is most likely safe. Even though you haven’t submitted any data, we strongly recommend that you verify with your bank and report this to ActionFraud.
3. I have clicked on the link and submitted my details, what do I have to do?
PHONE YOUR BANK IMMEDIATELY! We strongly advise you to contact your bank immediately to inform them of this issue and to freeze any debit cards that the scammer now has access to. We also advise you to contact ActionFraud and report this scam to them.
Help us spread awareness on this scam!
Please help us and people you may know by sharing this article as widely as possible to spread awareness and to educate people on the dangers of this scam.
Report it to ActionFraud
Please phone 0300 123 2040 if you are on the receiving end of a cyber attack, if you are deaf or hard of hearing you can use their textphone service at 0300 123 2050, or alternatively you can use their online fraud reporting tool.