Who Wouldn’t Want $500 Of Free Money?

The email says it only takes a minute to qualify for it

Everybody needs money

Have you received one of those emails which say that you can get a $500 gift card for answering a simple question that will take less than a minute of your time? Those emails can look to be entirely legitimate as they supposedly come from reputable and well-known companies.

Can they be trusted? They most likely cannot although it sounds like something that is worth getting. Who wouldn’t want $500 of free money for doing virtually nothing? It sounds too good to be true so it probably is. There are many scammers who are trying to take the money of regular, hardworking people or retirees.

These emails can appear to come from companies such as Sam’s Club, Walmart, Costco, or Best Buy. The large companies are not immune from fraud being perpetrated in their names. The emails could also appear to be from banks or credit card companies. Their logos may be used so that the emails look as if they are actually from the company or financial institution.

After receiving such an email and NOT clicking on the link because it was suspicious, my wife called the company and spoke to a representative who said they sometimes send out promotional material but not offers of $500 gift cards for doing nothing. The representative took down the email addresses from which the emails supposedly came. She said to simply and immediately delete the emails so that they would not be clicked on by mistake.

Money is necessary for basically everyone in order to live. We all need a certain amount of it to pay our bills and live in this world. Having the chance to get an extra $500 for doing almost nothing may be enticing and tempting. Such an offer is usually a scam. The people sending the emails are committing financial crimes against society.

This particular email came from an email address with a person’s name listed. It was not an email address for the company from which the offer supposedly came. There was also a physical mailing address listed.

The main course of action is to simply delete the email as soon as possible. If you want to call the company, look up their number. Do not use a number supplied in the email. The real companies often ask parties to visit the website, and it may be very difficult to speak to anyone.

Be suspicious and don’t fall for the scams.

It is possible to report scams, but the scammers are seldom caught.

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