WHATSAPP users are being warned of a fresh scam circulating on the chat app that’s after your personal details.
The fake giveaway offering free Alton Towers tickets is spreading fast, with users complaining of receiving a torrent of spam messages with links to a malicious website.
“Alton Towers is giving away 5 free tickets to 500 families,” reads one version of the fraudulent text, with a link to a URL that looks deceptively similar to the Alton Towers site.
Another spin on the same scam features the Alton Towers resort logo with a button beneath it that shows how many free tickets are remaining.
Like other WhatsApp scam messages, it’s full of grammatical errors: a dead giveaway that something dodgy is at play.
“We’re giving 5 free passes to 500 families to celebrate our 110nd birthday!” reads the text below the image.
Clicking on it directs users to an online survey and encourages them to send it on to 20 of their friends.
Multiple WhatsApp users who’ve received the message are alerting others to it on Twitter.
“@altontowers hello! Just had a message from a friend, looks like a spam website you might want to be aware of. There’s a dot over the “o”. It seems to send it on to all your WhatsApp contacts,” tweeted Tom Rushton.
Responding to a concerned Twitter user, the Staffordshire theme park confirmed that the message is in fact a scam. It urged people not to forward their personal info or spread the hoax.
“Hi Paige, this is a scam. Action is being taken to remove the fake offer and we urge guests not to share their personal details or forward the offer to their contacts. The safest way to buy tickets is always to go directly to our website http://www.altontowers.com,” tweeted the official Alton Towers Twitter account.
We’ve reached out to WhatsApp for comment.
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“We are aware of a ticket offer being shared on social media that claims to be from Alton Towers Resort,” a spokesperson for Alton Towers told The BBC.
“This is not a genuine offer, or in any way affiliated with Alton Towers.”
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