UK Superdrug shoppers placed on red alert – ignoring email warning will be costly

Staff
By Staff

Superdrug shoppers need to watch out for convincing scam that is currently targeting UK inboxes.

There’s a worrying new email scam doing the rounds and this time it’s targeting those who shop at Superdrug. As spotted by the tech team at Mirror Online, this latest attack tries to tempt you into clicking on links by suggesting you’ve won a high-value beauty prize.

“You are our winner!” the email, which features official Superdrug branding, exclaims. The message also includes a brightly coloured button which needs to be clicked to claim the prize with winners told they will be handed an expensive Oral B smart electric toothbrush for free.

To avoid you getting tricked, Mirror Online went through the next steps of the scam and it’s easy to see why some could be fooled.

Once clicked you are taken to a Superdrug-branded website where you are asked to fill in a quick survey about the UK store. After the 10 multiple choice questions are answered a page pops up saying you have now won an Oral B iO Series 9 worth over £200.

“Because you helped provide extremely valuable consumer data you may now choose some of the exclusive rewards below,” another message reads.

To add some immediacy to the situation, a timer then flashes on the screen and you are asked to type in data such as your name, address and phone number before you lose the chance to win.

It all appears pretty innocuous and all of the web pages appear very official. It’s only until you get the final page of the website that things get concerning.

To get your prize you are asked to pay a small £2 shipping fee and it’s here that things get dangerous. A window appears that asks for your bank details – if fooled, hackers will then have all the data they need to steal money including you name, address, phone and card details.

It’s highly unlikely you’ll ever get the prize and you could instead be left seriously out of pocket.

Despite email providers filtering the most dangerous emails out of inboxes some are clearly still slipping through the net and it’s vital to stay alert as some do seem pretty convincing.

Things to watch out for include your name not appearing on the original email along with tactics such as timers which add a sense of urgency. If you were really a prize winner, stores such as Superdrug would never ask for banking details or payments to be made.

If you get a message like this or anything similar it’s wise not to click on any links and put the email straight in the bin.

Mirror Online recently discovered a similar mystery email message targeting Amazon users so these attacks are pretty common.

Share This Article
Leave a comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *