Is this Aldi voucher a scam?
Don't fall for these fake Aldi money off vouchers.
Festive bargain hunters are being warned about a new supermarket voucher scam doing the rounds.
The voucher which pops up online is claiming shoppers can get 40% off everything at Aldi supermarkets once you print it off.
But Aldi has confirmed the offer is a scam and cannot be used in any of its stores.
The voucher
Here’s what the voucher looks like:
As you can see, though it looks genuine at first glance, there are some odd details like the American date format (12/31/2015) and Americanisms like ‘no rain checks’ which give it away as a fake.
The aim of the scam is to access shoppers’ personal details by redirecting them to another website where they can fill in a form.
These simple details can be used by the fraudsters behind the hoax to steal your identity and apply for things like loans and credit cards in your name.
What Aldi says
Aldi has used social media to alert shoppers of the scam.
On Facebook it wrote: “ALERT: We have been notified that there is a hoax 40% off Aldi voucher being circulated online. Please be aware that this post is fraudulent and cannot be redeemed in our stores.”
And using Twitter it warned shoppers not to share personal details on the hoax website.
We strongly advise you not to enter any personal details on this website. This is currently being fully investigated. Thank you, Aldi UK 2/2
— Aldi Stores UK (@AldiUK) December 20, 2015
What to do if you've been duped
If you spot this voucher online, don’t click on it or fill out any of your personal details.
But if you think you may have already fallen for it you should take steps to protect your accounts to ensure you don’t become a victim of ID theft.
Change your passwords and keep an eye on your credit file for any signs of suspicious activity.
Most credit report agencies offer a free trial, but you can compare credit report costs with loveMONEY if you think you have used them up already.
Also keep tabs on your bank and credit card accounts for signs of fraud. If you see anything odd contact your bank or credit card provider. Read Who to call if you've been scammed.
How to avoid fake vouchers
Christmas brings out the bargain hunter in everybody and scammers are keen to take advantage of this.
Be on the lookout for tell-tale signs the voucher may be a fake like poor grammar, spelling mistakes and anything else that stands out.
If you aren’t sure if an offer is genuine, check official pages for the company or contact them directly on an official phone number to confirm the details.
Try to use your common sense too; if a deal sounds too good to be true it probably is.
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Comments
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It's not just Aldi. I have been getting them for the last couple of months supposedly from about every retailer you can think of not just supermarkets and some of them are slightly more believable than the example above. e.g enter the prize draw for £500 voucher etc. apart from the obvious mistakes on the above example I always look at the email address of the sender. I am on hotmail and if I have it shows the sender as something like aldistores.com or similar if you hover over the sender it will show you the actual email address of the sender which usually makes it obvious it is not who they purport to be. I always block them but they have thousands of slight variations
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I cannot imagine anyone thinking Aldi would give you 40% off everything. If you knew the people running Aldi they are as tight as the proverbial and give nothing away. In fact only rubbish items such as settees come with silly discounts like 40% because it has added 50% on first as we all know.
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24 December 2015