14 DAY TRIAL // Emails claiming to be from Coca-Cola carry the joyous news that the recipient has been selected as a winner in the company’s anniversary promo and that they are to receive $1 million / €880,000.
This is a scam that has been seen circulating in the past for the purpose of tricking an individual into paying bogus fees and taxes in order to receive the big win. It is a classic advance-fee scam, where the victim pays a small sum of money expecting a larger one, promised by the fraudster.
Big win cannot be claimed unless small fees are paid
The message distributed in the current campaign is simple: the recipient has won the prize and has to claim it by submitting their name, age, phone number and address.
Should the potential victim choose to ignore the various alarm flags throughout the email and return the information demanded, the scammers will reply asking for some sums of money in order to pay different taxes, according to Hoax-Slayer.
Once they find a victim who pays the initial “costs” for securing the alleged prize, the scammers will keep asking for more, invoking a wide range of reasons; they have absolutely nothing to lose by doing this, and try to get as much as possible from the victim.
In some cases, the fraudsters ask for sensitive personal or financial information. This can be used to perpetrate other scams in the future. Any detail from the victim can be used by the crooks to make some money, either directly or indirectly.
Having the identity stolen is one of the biggest risks, and this could impact the credit score negatively, as fraudsters will be able to get money in the victim’s name.
Crooks recycle text from a previous campaign
In the message captured by Hoax-Slayer, the signs of a fraud are visible. From the way the recipient is addressed, to the fact that a reward prize this large is very unlikely to go unnoticed by the media, everything is suspicious.
A closer look reveals that in one paragraph it is the 128th anniversary, while in another it is the 125th, “since the first Coca-Cola was enjoyed on May 8, 1886.”
Also, one should ask themselves how many legitimate messages they receive from Coca-Cola in a year, and how come the company offers such a reward without getting something in return, as big a company as it is, Coca-Cola still needs advertising to maintain its position in the market.