Aussie shoppers being hit by fake Coles text messaging scams

Many Baby Boomers are wising up to scams trying to rob them out of money and their personal details, but a new scam is tricking Australians into thinking they’ve won gift cards from Coles.

Shoppers have taken to the Coles Facebook page to warn the store and other shoppers about the worrying text messages. Customers are being sent messages from scammers pretending to be from Coles, informing them they’ve won $1,000 gift cards to spend in the supermarket.

People are being told they have just 24 hours to claim their prize and are tricked into clicking a link and handing over their personal information. While many can tell it’s a scam and have shared the message online in hopes that others won’t fall for it, others have shared the message asking if it’s too good to be true. Unfortunately, it is.

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Trying to trick people even further, the scammers have even named themselves Coles to make it appear as if the message is really coming from the supermarket giant.

It’s not the first times Coles and its shoppers have been hit by scams, with Coles issuing a statement several months ago urging people to be aware of dodgy messages.

“Coles advises customers to be aware of text messages, phone calls, websites, competitions and other unsolicited contact that use the Coles brand without Coles’ permission or which promote Coles Gift Cards or other gift cards in an attempt to appear legitimate,” it said. “These offers predominantly attempt to collect your personal details, financial information or request payment for goods or services.”

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Coles said it will never ask a customer for their personal or banking details in other unsolicited communications. It also said customers should be wary of requests that get them to fill out surveys asking for personal details or financial information, sharing social media posts in exchange for gift cards, calling specific numbers to give out personal information, purchasing gift cards and providing unknown sources with redemption codes and asking to access personal computers if you haven’t expressed a problem.

It also said customers should look out for the blue verification tick across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to ensure people are communicating with the real Coles page.

“If you receive contact on social media that looks like it has come from a Coles account however does not have the blue verified tick next to the name, this is not from us,” Coles said.

Coles said there were as many as six scams doing the rounds and that anyone should report suspicious activity to the Australian Taxation Office on 1300 795 995 or scamwatch.gov.au/report-a-scam.

What do you think? Have you received this message? How do you protect yourself against scams?