Scammers posing as Woolworths virtual assistants with fake prizes ask shoppers for personal information

A watchdog has put shoppers on alert after scammers posing as Woolworths representatives correctly identified people’s names.

Scammers posing as virtual Woolworths representatives have caught the eye of government watchdog Scamwatch after shoppers were asked to submit personal information to a text message.

Several customers have taken to social media to report an alarming scam in which a text message correctly identifies the name of the recipient.

The text message, attributed to a fake Woolworths virtual assistant “Suzy”, told recipients that a receipt from one of their purchases in 2020 had “automatically entered” them into a draw and a prize was available to claim.

Recipients are told a receipt from one of their purchases in 2020 had ‘automatically entered’ them into a draw and a prize was available to claim. Picture: Supplied via NCA NewsWire

The text message asks users to click on a link. One shopper did enter the website and was addressed by “Suzy” and welcomed to the fake “Woolworths interactive prize universe”.

“I’m your virtual guide Suzy and I’ll be helping you to claim the prize you won today,” a robot said. The fake website had similar features to the Woolworths chat feature.

A Facebook user posted to Woolworths’ Facebook community on Monday that he received “an email claiming to come via the WOW online chat and to click “here” to receive your gift,” the user wrote. “Presumably a scam, so just wanted to make you aware.”

The post came after another shopper, Natalie Whellum, on Saturday uploaded screenshots of the text message in a post to Woolworths’ Facebook community. “Got this morning. New scam?” the Facebook user asked.

A Facebook user had her name correctly identified by the scammers. Picture: Supplied via NCA NewsWire

One Facebook user wondered how scammers obtained her name given she said she did not shop at the supermarket chain. Picture: Supplied via NCA NewsWire

When contacted by NCA NewsWire, a Woolies spokesperson would not comment on how scammers were able to correctly identify the names of the text message recipients.

“We'd leave it to the relevant authorities to comment on the specific nature of the scam,” the spokesperson said.

However, the spokesperson did stress the scam was in no way affiliated with Woolworths.

“This is not an authorised message from Woolworths and is not affiliated with us in any way,” a statement read.

“As always, we encourage our customers to be vigilant of online and text phishing scams, which seek to imitate well-known brands to collect personal information.

“We never ask our customers for their personal or banking details in unsolicited communications. We report scams to the ACCC‘s Scamwatch and regularly update our Scam Alerts page on our website to help keep customers secure online.”

Earlier on Monday, Scamwatch did take to Twitter to alert users of the scam.

“The latest scam impersonating Woolworths pretends to be a chat bot. Do not provide your address or credit card details. You will not receive the prize or gift voucher,” Scamwatch’s official account posted on Twitter.

The latest scam impersonating Woolworths pretends to be a chat bot. Do not provide your address or credit card details. You will not receive the prize or gift voucher. pic.twitter.com/EOldN6Q1Bv

— Scamwatch_gov_au (@Scamwatch_gov) January 10, 2021

Originally published as Scammers posing as Woolworths virtual assistants with fake prizes ask shoppers for personal information