Free Amazon or Walmart gift-card ad that never pays
Ads using Amazon or Walmart's name promise a free gift card, then show a fake code and a 'verify you are human' loop. The loop pushes surveys, app installs, or paid phone subscriptions, and there is no real card.
How it works
You see an ad, often on social media or a website, offering a free gift card from a well-known store. After you click, a code may appear, which makes the offer look real. Then you are asked to prove you are a person by filling out surveys, installing apps, or signing up for paid phone subscriptions. The process keeps going, and the promised card never arrives. Later, extra charges can show up on a phone bill. Skip the giveaway and check your bill if you already clicked through.
Red flags
- An ad promises a free gift card from a major store if you click or complete steps.
- A code appears, then more 'verification' tasks follow.
- You are asked to install apps, take surveys, or start a paid subscription.
- The offer uses a famous brand name but is not on that company's official site.
What to do
- Ignore the giveaway and do not enter personal or payment information.
- Check your phone bill and any app-store subscriptions for charges you did not mean to start, and cancel them.
- If a brand's name was used, you can also report the ad through that platform's reporting tools.
- Report the scam at reportfraud.ftc.gov and, if money was taken, at ic3.gov.
Where to report it
- reportfraud.ftc.gov — the FTC's report form.
- ic3.gov — the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center.