Dubai: If you think its too good to be true, then it probably is.
Residents in the UAE have been receiving messages on WhatsApp, claiming that they can win a US$500 gift voucher to mark Ikea’s 75 anniversary.
Ikea has warned residents not to fall for the scam, which asks residents to hand over personal information in exchange for gift vouchers.
On its Facebook account, Ikea announced that it is aware of the fake message circulated recently on WhatsApp, and urged residents not to participate or share any personal information with the scammers.
How to identify a scam
1. Don’t trust the display name or ‘from’ email address. Even if the email features ‘Ikea’ in the display name, it might not be an authentic email from us.
Example
To: <you@yourdomian.com>
From: IKEA <IKEA@phishingdomain.com> (Ikea is a display name)
Subject: Win £500 vouchers
So, to be safe, don’t rely on the display name. Double check it against the full ‘from’ email address. If that looks suspicious, don’t open it.
2. Look but don’t click. Hover your mouse over any links in the body of the email. If the link address looks unusual, don’t click on it.
3. Check for typos. Phishing emails tend to be spelt strangely. At Ikea, we work hard to avoid spelling mistakes or poor grammar, so our emails shouldn’t have any typos.
4. Don’t give up personal information. We’ll never ask for personal details via email. So keep them to yourself.
5. Watch out for threatening subject lines. Trying to make you feel afraid is a common phishing tactic. For instance, any subject lines that claim: “your account has been suspended” or “an unauthorized login attempt” are usually scams.
6. Check the footer. We’ll always give you the address of our registered office. Lack of information about who the email is from, or how you can contact a company may point to a scam.
7. Don’t believe everything you see. Phishers are good at what they do. They’ll often use convincing brand logos, language, and what seems to be a valid email address. Be skeptical when it comes to your emails – if it looks remotely suspicious, don’t open it.
8. Report anything suspicious. If you think an email you’ve received is odd, or you want to check that any offers, vouchers or messages are legitimate, let us know
Source: Ikea
