Easter is approaching and it’s about time to fill the Easter baskets at home. A free chocolate package fits in perfectly. However, if you come across a Milka competition on WhatsApp, you should delete the message immediately.
A fake competition is currently circulating, in which you will be redirected to a fake Milka website via a link. One of “5,000 free Easter gift baskets” will tempt you. But behind it there is nothing to gain. Instead, scammers are waiting to steal your data behind the link.
Beware of the Milka competition on WhatsApp: That’s what’s behind it
Links to the alleged Milka sweepstakes can be found not only on WhatsApp, but also on other social media. If you follow these links, you will end up on a website that at first glance looks like an official offer from Milka. The link in WhatsApp also suggests this, after all, “milka.de” is specified there in the preview box. Directly below you can see the link to the page you actually land on. This is a Russian domain that Milka would never use for a competition.
updated: Milka’s own website also warns of fake sweepstakes:
“In various media, consumers are often informed about bogus Milka competitions! These are click baits that lead to a sweepstakes. These actions are not from our house. Our Milka brand has no connection with these competitions. They only pursue the purpose of receiving personal data in order to contact the participants afterwards.”
On the site itself, you don’t notice anything at first about the attempted fraud. In order to take part in the alleged competition, one is asked to forward the link to one’s WhatsApp contacts. This is how the scammers pretend to be serious. After all, people tend to trust links sent to them by friends. If you follow the instructions on the screen, there is no confirmation of participation in the competition. Instead, you end up on a website where you get completely different things, such as a paid subscription. A phishing trap can also hide behind it.
Milka is not the only well-known company that is used for such scams. There used to be traps with alleged competitions from Lidl, Adidas or MediaMarkt.
Milka competition on WhatsApp: Did you click the link? What to do?
If you have already taken part in the Milka competition, you should do the following immediately:
- Informs all contactsto whom you forwarded the competition. Tell them it’s a scam and a private data threat lurks behind the link.
- If you only opened the link, there is no greater danger as long as you have not downloaded anything or entered any private data.
- If you have given personal data such as first and last name, address and date of birth, you should inform the police. Fraudsters can harm you with the data, for example by unintentionally registering you with some service.
- If you have given your bank details, also inform your bank.
- If you have already fallen into a subscription trap and were lured into paid access, we will explain elsewhere how you can get out of the subscription trap:
- If you downloaded an app that supposedly increases the security of your smartphone, cleans the memory or promises other improvements, delete the application immediately. In the overview of the installed apps, also check whether other unknown representatives have crept in and delete them as well.
- Also check your mobile phone bill for unknown debits. If so, contact your cell phone provider.
- If you have followed the link in the browser on the PC, you should carry out a virus scan to be on the safe side.
In the smartphone settings, you should check authorization management to see whether unknown apps require unusual authorizations, such as your location.
If you have already entered personal data, such as your cell phone number, it could happen that you will be contacted by scammers in the future. In the video we explain how you can recognize such fake calls and how best to protect yourself. If you are called by strangers, you should avoid saying “yes”, for example. Spam mails could also end up in the mailbox in the future.
If you want to take part in “real” competitions, never follow links from WhatsApp and Co. Instead, go to the official websites of the providers, in this case the Milka website, for example, and check whether current competitions are running there. In the case of the current fake raffle on WhatsApp, Milka is of course not behind it and distances itself from this action.