The so-called “Gift Coup” can happen on a special day: the birthday. Scammers offer birthday gifts to redeem gifts for a fee. When making the payment, there is a possibility of bank data theft and financial loss.
Expert warns to avoid suspicious transactions and look for information about companies in official channels. A birthday girl, who will not be identified by the report, received messages via WhatsApp from two different phone numbers on her birthday.
Scammers had personal data, such as full name, birthday and address and claimed to represent Giuliana Flores florist.
The profile explains that, in order to deliver the gift, it is necessary to pay a fee of R$5.99 or R$12.99. The purchase was not requested by the victim, which is why it is called a “surprise order” with an alleged gift paid by a third party.
In another message, there is an allegation that the delivery was returned for not finding the sender that, for a new attempt, it would be necessary to pay a resending fee to the company Lalamove. The scammer sends the text on the victim’s birthday to increase the chance of payment in the scam.
The victim denied payment, but the scammer insisted on delivering the gift. In other messages, there are several errors in the Portuguese language.
The profile has a description of the store, profile picture of a real company, descriptive text of services, company for delivery, product options for sale, a fake email to Customer Service (SAC), and other explanations about hours operating hours and addresses. All have been checked by the report and are false.
The report came into contact with the profile of the scammers. When requesting data for a purchase, the attendant is suspicious, saying that they do not make sales using that telephone number, despite this option appearing in the description of the business account.
“For our attendants they will call you”. Finally, the scammer disdains the attempted purchase. “Want to prank,” he says.
After contact, the scammer profile blocked contact. The victim regrets the attempt “in a day when we are naturally more emotional and vulnerable, having to deal with people who try to take advantage of this is frustrating”.
Lawyer Arthur Rollo, specialist in Consumer Protection, explains that this scam can lead to others. Several messages are sent a day by scammers who get data on social networks or buy information illegally on the internet.
The charge is made by PIX or credit card and the product is never delivered. “It is noteworthy that there are many mistakes in Portuguese, reputable companies are concerned about this. Several scammers use company names and earn 12 reais from a thousand people, there must be a large number of people who end up paying”.
In addition to the gain from volume, the scam can lead to more losses such as exposure of bank data and crimes ranging from embezzlement to ideological falsehood, according to the expert.
He advises that data is not shared and that, in doubt, the company is sought through official channels. Whatsapp business account data differ from those released by the company Giuliana Flores.
In a note, they explain that they have protocols to offer security to customers, but complain that, on the internet, there are “malicious people who can make use of leaked data, without the possibility of control, using the company name in an unethical way” and which also provides guidance to customers on the official flower shop channels to avoid scams.
The report reached out to Lalamove, but received no response. The Civil Police of São Paulo allows the registration of the Police Report digitally or at police stations and guides the registration for investigations.
Source: CNN Brasil
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