New warning to Woolworths Everyday Rewards members

Woolworths is helping customers who have had their Everyday Rewards points stolen after new information came to light.

Woolworths is assisting customers who have had their Everyday Rewards points stolen amid fresh concern that shoppers should check their balances.

It comes after a man raised the alert when $440 was stolen from his Everyday Rewards account.

The customer detailed the incident in a Facebook group, saying he believes a hacker accessed his account and wiped the points, using them at a store approximately three hours away to make a large purchase.

It’s the latest in a string of similar incidents, of which Woolworths is investigating.

“We have been assisting a small number of members who appear to have been the victim of unauthorised access to their Everyday Rewards accounts,” a Woolworths Everyday Rewards spokesperson told news.com.au.

The man wrote: “On the 21st of September I switched my Rewards from ‘Bank For Christmas’ over to ‘Automatic Savings’ so I could spend some of my rewards points that had recently come through.

“I did not switch my rewards back to ‘Bank For Christmas’ at the time. Subsequently, on the 22nd of September I had a fraudulent transaction occur on my Rewards account, at a supermarket I’ve never shopped at, some three odd hours from where I live – a transaction which completely wiped out my $440 of rewards.

“I reported the activity to Woolworths on Friday the 23rd of September as the 22nd was a public holiday, and subsequently a case was escalated.

“I was advised that this would be investigated as a matter of urgency due to the amount of rewards involved and that someone would be in touch.”

He wrote how unhappy he was with how long the issue was taking to resolve.

A customer had his rewards points stolen.

Other Facebook users were shocked to find their accounts had been targeted too.

One shopper wrote: “I’m with everyone else. It looks like my account is wiped – no points, no boosters, no vouchers – nothing!”

While another commented: “Everyday Rewards this is now getting ridiculous! I have waited four weeks for your IT team to ‘investigate’ the fraud on my card and I am still waiting!

“It’s pretty clear that someone in a different state stole the rewards dollars from me and no matter how many times I call your team (which is a lot) nothing ever gets done … $410 rewards dollars stolen you should have given back to me by now!”

Woolworths Everyday Rewards is looking into the incident.

Woolworths has recently introduced extra security measures for Everyday Reward customers, however a spokesperson said there is no need for concern.

“We have not seen an increased spike in customer calls or emails in relation to unauthorised access in recent months and there is no evidence to suggest our Everyday Rewards systems have been breached or compromised,” the spokesperson said.

“In the cases reported to us, accounts have been accessed using valid login or account details. This indicates fraudsters have likely obtained these members’ login credentials and account details from online scams or other sources.

“If any members’ points have been accessed through fraud, the Everyday Rewards team will work with them to secure their account.

“To prevent fraud, we encourage our members to keep their accounts secure with strong passwords and to be wary of scams and phishing.”

The spokesperson said that Everyday Rewards has introduced a one time security code which is sent to members’ emails or mobile phones when they want to change their details.

Everyday Rewards is also updating password strengths for new and existing customers, along with sending automatic emails to customers when any of their personal details have been changed or an abnormal transaction has occurred on their account.

Customers need to ensure their passwords are strong.

The balances of any member on their Bank for Christmas program who has over $30 in their Everyday Rewards account is automatically locked with added security for their Everyday Rewards dollars.

“For members who’s Everyday Rewards points have been accessed through fraud, we always aim to reinstate those points within five business days of notification and from time to time our customer team may give members additional reward points as a gesture of goodwill, while we investigate.”

Extra steps members can take for additional online protection:

• Change your Everyday Rewards password if you’ve used it for another account online, making sure passwords are unique for all online accounts.

• Update your passwords to stronger passphrases, including numbers and special characters like ILOVE2ReadB00ks! and 2beornot2B?

• Take a closer look at who is contacting you and be suspicious of calls, SMS or emails that don’t seem genuine. Everyday Rewards will never ask for your login details via phone or SMS.

• Log out of your accounts and lock devices as soon as you’re finished.