BestBuy.Com

[smithe]

I received a text stating I was randomly selected for a $1000 gift card from Best Buy and all I need to do is log onto a website.  I assume this is a scam but you never know.  Is this a scam?

[DanK Best Buy Employee · Accepted solution]

Yup, scam.

[smithe]

Thanks Dan.  I assumed it was but you never know.  I have never won anything in my life time so why would I start now right?  ha

[CrystalWoW Community Veteran]

Yep.

[edtheearl]

FYI, It just happened to me within an hour of filling out a survey from Best Buy. Glad I thought to check here first. 

The Best Buy.com geeks need to up their game.  I certainly will think twice about responding to a survey now.

 

[hydrogenwv]

I'm not sure what Best Buy can do in this case to make the texts stop. They aren't sending hte texts, it'd likely be difficult to determine who is, and even if they do find out, then what? Possibly a cease & desist letter or some legal action, but that will take months... all the while, these cats can still do the same thing.

  And, let's assume they get shut down. What's stopping them from switching websites and phone numbers and doing the same thing again?

Be skeptical of anything that sounds too good to be true. Watch out for website addresses, as well. If it says BestBuy.com in the text and doesn't direct to a BestBuy.com website, assume it's a scam. Also, remember that a legit survey will not (rarely, I should say) ask for any truly identifying information.

It's a crappy situation, but you can't expect everyone else to protect you. You have to protect yourself.

[edtheearl]

I don't expect them to protect me from random scams. But, I believe someone is plugged into Best Buy's web activities. Its odd that I received the text about 3 hours after I completed a survey they sent to me. I'd like to know what % of these scams are on people who interact with Best Buy on the web.

[DanK Best Buy Employee]

I doubt it. I just received one from "Walmart" a few hours ago. There's really nothing that can be done to stop these, just remember if it's too good to be true it probably isn't legit.

[hydrogenwv]

Best Buy doesn't have my current mobile phone number, and I still got one from Best Buy.

[fidke]

I just got a text from 310-956-0863 claiming I won a $1000 gift card. The message tells you to go to this site prizebestbuy.com. I looked up the whois for the site and it's owned by some guy in China:

Domain Name.......... prizebestbuy.com
  Creation Date........ 2012-04-10 18:24:44
  Registration Date.... 2012-04-10 18:24:44
  Expiry Date.......... 2013-04-10 18:24:44
  Organisation Name.... liu wenge
  Organisation Address. jiefanglu344hao
  Organisation Address.
  Organisation Address. wuhan
  Organisation Address. 424000
  Organisation Address. HB
  Organisation Address. CN

Admin Name........... liuwenge
  Admin Address........ jiefanglu344hao
  Admin Address........
  Admin Address........ wuhan
  Admin Address........ 424000
  Admin Address........ HB
  Admin Address........ CN
  Admin Email.......... 
  Admin Phone.......... +86.278564521
  Admin Fax............ +86.278564521

Can't we do anything about these scammers??