The success recorded by Apple iPads makes them a perfect lure for cybercriminal campaigns. In the latest scheme, the crooks have made up a partnership between Google’s Gmail and Apple and promise to offer an iPad 2 to randomly chosen winners.
The emails bear the subject “September 18th Notice,” but the date will most likely change, depending on when the messages are sent out.
“We recently teamed up with Apple for a one-time promotional event today and are giving away free Apple iPads to randomly selected people who have an email account with Gmail. You have been selected as one of our newest winners for this promotion,” reads the phony notification.
Apparently, the recipient’s email address matches the latest drawing and he/she is being given a free iPad 2. So, you might be wondering why Apple is giving away iPads for free. The explanation is hilarious.
“We partnered up with Apple to advertise their hottest product yet, the Apple iPad 3. In order for them to make room for the iPad 3, they are clearing out current inventory of the iPad 2. Part of this process involves offering promotional giveaways in order to help promote the new iPad,” the scammers wrote.
It’s clear that this is a scam, but what is its goal? Well,
according to Hoax Slayer, internauts who click on the link which allegedly points to a site where they can claim their prizes, are presented with all sorts of classic survey scams.
Similar to other recent schemes, victims are requested to provide their mobile phone numbers. While this may seem harmless, in reality, by entering their phone numbers, users are actually signing up for premium SMS services that inflate their bills.
As always, no one actually wins an iPad. The only winners are those who launch these campaigns since they can earn thousands of dollars by tricking unsuspecting individuals.
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