Whatsapp rip-off with 5,000 free gas grills from Obi

Updated July 18, 2022:

First the good name of Obi is misused for Easter and then for Father’s Day (see below) and now the summer has to serve. The message is currently being spread via Whatsapp that Obi is allegedly giving away 5,000 gas grills. Specifically, the title of the frequently forwarded Whatsapp message says:

“Obi Summer 2022 Giveaway”

and then in the text:

“5,000 free gas grills for you.”

The following is a link through which the recipient can allegedly get hold of one of the gifted gas grills.

You guessed it: you actually end up on a website where users are supposed to reveal personal information and are asked to forward the Whatsapp message. Even in “Summer 2022” Obi is not just giving away 5,000 gas grills.

Our recommendation: delete the Whatsapp message and never follow the link.

Original message, May 25, 2022:

First Milka chocolate, now free gas grills from Obi: At Easter, a fake Milka competition made the rounds on Whatsapp, in which 5,000 Easter gift baskets stuffed with chocolate were allegedly raffled off. Close to Father’s Day on May 26, 2022 (i.e. this Thursday) there is now a similar rip-off.

Allegedly, according to the Whatsapp message that is currently being distributed, the hardware store giant Obi is giving away a total of 5,000 gas grills. Father’s Day and nice weather (well, it doesn’t look like that at the moment), a new, valuable gas grill is of course welcome.

However: It is a fake sweepstakes.

After various inquiries from consumers, Obi points out on his Facebook page that the alleged “OBI Father’s Day sweepstakes” has nothing to do with the company. In addition, Obi explains: “You can recognize official competitions from OBI by the fact that they are either posted by our official social media channels and/or the participation link leads to obi.de or the heyOBI app. You recognize our official social media channels the blue verification tick.”

Never click on the link in a Whatsapp message

The message distributed via Whatsapp bears the title, among other things

“Obi 2022 Father’s Day competition”

followed by the text

“5,000 free gas grills up for grabs”.

The link provided for participation in the competition leads to a WP20.RU page, similar to the alleged Milka competition in April. If the user follows the link, he lands on an Obi-like website and is first asked to answer various questions and is also asked to share the Whatsapp message with his contacts, which ensures that more and more Whatsapp users receive this message.

Delete Whatsapp message immediately

Under no circumstances should the link in the Whatsapp message about the alleged Obi competition be clicked. It cannot be ruled out that fraudsters then use this method to install malware on the device used. Also, no personal information should be disclosed on the WP20.RU site as it could be misused for future attacks.

Under no circumstances should the Whatsapp message be forwarded to other Whatsapp contacts, as this will support the online scammers in their rip-off if less experienced users fall for it. It is best to delete the Whatsapp message immediately and inform the sender that it is a scam.