The internet users in Australia have become vulnerable to the current viral Harvey Norman Giveaway Scam 2021. If you have received an email imitating to be from Harvey Norman, here is how to deal with it.
Scamming via emails and social applications has become a common practice for fraudsters these days. As common people are using more online ways for communication, the online scams have also inclined in recent years. The only way to overcome these phishing attacks is to be vigilant and cautious before relying on any suspicious email or Text message.
In majority of such cases, crooks impersonate well reputed companies or government organizations, one thing that can help you identify these scams is, the fraudsters will always try to get your important credentials or they will ask you to click a link and complete a survey.
They might also ask you to send the scam message to your further contacts. So, whenever you encounter such deals, double check their URL’s before relying on any malicious link.
Today’s article will enlighten you with a similar scam that impersonates the popular retailer Harvey Norman. Stay tuned!
What Is Harvey Norman Giveaway Scam
Another viral fraud of 2021, the Harvey Norman Giveaway Scam is trapping the innocent internet users by sending them a fake email pretending to be from Harvey Norman. The fake email claims that the recipient has won a competition; hence they are eligible for a giveaway.
The email seems to be received from the head of customer service at Harvey Norman. This fake email is written so professionally that, even well-educated and vigilant customers have fallen prey to them.
The crooks have designed the email, domain name and the website so well that even the most loyal customers wouldn’t identify it at first. The email states that the recipient has won a prize and the company is attempting to contact them. It also states that, they tried to contact the potential victim on their phone but they couldn’t connect to him/her.
The fraudsters also have all the information about their potential victim. They further ask the user to confirm their ID and their preferred delivery address by clicking on the link attached to the email. As usual, users reach a suspicious website upon clicking on the link. Here, the user becomes vulnerable to identity theft.
How To Report Harvey Norman Giveaway Scam
It is quite difficult to prevent such scams as they already have spread like wild fires on the internet. The only way to be on the safe side is, ignore such messages and emails.
Confirm the validity of email or text message from the concerned organization or authority before relying on it. If you ever encounter such an email, simply delete the email and inform your friends and family about the potential scam.
Considering the threat posed by this viral scam, Harvey Norman has also warned its customers. According to the official website of Harvey Norman, they will never ask you for payment information over the phone or via any link on email or SMS.
The website further says:
“Businesses like Harvey Norman and other major retailers or airlines unfortunately are frequently impersonated by scammers. This is because we often run promotions and so communications from us can seem quite plausible.
If you receive an email and it doesn’t look like an email you’d usually receive from Harvey Norman, doesn’t come from a Harvey Norman email address (but remember those ‘spoofers’), has a .zip file attachment, there is any mention of an international address, or you are in any way suspicious, then this is likely a scam.
Please be cautious about any email that offers free shopping at Harvey Norman.
To stay safe we recommend manually typing ‘harveynorman.co.nz’ into your browser’s address bar every time you visit our website.”
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Final Words
To stop such scams from spreading further, report them to The Department of Internal Affairs Electronic Messaging Compliance Team at [email protected]. You can also report the Harvey Norman Giveaway Scam 2021 to [email protected].