Phishing Scam – ‘Redeem Gift Card’ Email Pretends to be From Telstra
The original site is no longer online; links go to the Internet Archive copy.
What the fact-checkers found
This email, which purports to be from Australian telecommunications company Telstra, claims that you can click a button to redeem a gift card valued at $500.
Supposedly, the gift is a thank-you for becoming a Telstra bundle customer. The email includes the Telstra logo and other branding. Telstra does sometimes reward customer loyalty with gifts or extra services. So, at least at first glance, the email may look like an official notification from Telstra.
However, Telstra did not send the email and the claim that you can click to redeem a $500 gift card is untrue.
Instead, the email is a phishing scam. Clicking the button opens a fraudulent website that has been designed to look like it belongs to Telstra. The fake site asks you to provide sensitive personal information, ostensibly to allow the gift card to be sent to you.
Criminals can collect the information you supply and use it to commit fraud and identity theft. And, no matter what information you provide, you will never get the promised gift card.
Phishing scammers regularly target Telstra customers via fake notification emails and text messages. It is always safest to login to your Telstra account by entering the address into your browser’s address bar or via a trusted app.
Telstra has published information about such phishing campaigns on its website.
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