Kohls is not giving away a $75 coupon to celebrate their anniversary
One of the latest survey-scams circulating via posts shared on Facebook by people duped by the fraud claims that the retail chain Kohls is gifting a $75 coupon for free to celebrate their anniversary. However, this is not true. Kohls is not giving away a $75 coupon to celebrate their anniversary.
The scam can easily be debunked because Kohls was founded on September 12, 1962 and the scam is syndicated year round. There are also many similar “anniversary” scams such as the Starbucks $50 coupon scam. In addition, we have fully researched the scam and have verified it as such. These types of scams are very common and easy to stop for most people. That doesn’t mean that other people will not be deceived by the scams in hope to obtain a free prize.
The purpose of the scam is to direct victims to uninterrupted surveys designed to phish personal information submitted by the visitor. The surveys will ask for information such as email addresses, full names, home addresses, and more. The information collected by the surveys are then used for a variety of objectives. If your information has been accumulated, you can expect unwanted phone calls at home, junk mail, spam email messages, and more.
Furthermore, these types of scams can be associated with advance fee fraud. In some cases, victims may be asked to send a payment to obtain a prize.
How does the scam work?
A Facebook user will first notice a post shared by a friend in their news feed. If you click the post you will be directed to a new website such as kohls75gift.com.
The first web page contains text that says “You have been selected to take part in our short survey, you could get a 70 $ Gift Card!” and contains 3 questions. The questions are:
- Have you ever been to KOHLS?
- Have you ever been dissatisfied by a product you bought from KOHLS?
- Are you satisfied by the services of KOHLS?
The questions contain multiple choice answers. It does not matter which answers are selected.
The next page you will be directed says “Congratulations!” and contains steps that tell you to share this page by clicking the SHARE button and type Thanks for my Gift Card and Click like.
Once the like button is clicked you will be directed to a new website that contains a misleading survey. You will not obtain a prize for completing or submitting your information to these surveys. They are simply fashioned to obtain your personal information without rewarding you.
Once the first survey is completed you will be directed to another survey on another website, and so on.
What to do if you fell for the scam
If you completed online surveys associated with the Kohls $75 coupon Facebook scam there is not much that you can do. However, if you supplied your personal banking or credit information to a survey it is strongly suggested to contact your bank or credit institution for assistance.
If you sent an advanced payment in order to receive a prize contact your bank or credit card and file a claim against the transaction. Explain to your bank or the credit card company what happened in order to receive assistance for the matter.
If you used an online payment service to make an advanced payment contact them and let them know what happened. It is possible that you will be able to receive your money back from them.
Furthermore, terminate all association with the Facebook page. Unlike the Facebook page, report the Facebook page, tell friends that you might have tagged about the scam, and even change your Facebook password for safe measure.