Fraud Alerts

The following fraud and scams are not from Walmart. We are listing them here in an effort to educate you about these activities. If you feel that you have been defrauded, you may want to contact the Federal Trade Commission or the Consumer Fraud Division of your state's Attorney General's office.

Tips to Help Avoid Gift Card Fraud

• Walmart Gift Cards can only be used at Walmart stores or Sam’s Clubs in the U.S. or Puerto Rico, or on-line at Vudu, Inc., Walmart.com or Samsclub.com. No legitimate government entity, including the IRS, Treasury Department, FBI or local police department, will accept any form of gift cards as payment.
• Other businesses do not accept payments in the form of Walmart Gift Cards. For example, you will never be asked to pay your utility bills, bail money, debt collection and hospital bills with Walmart Gift Cards.
• Do not purchase, sell, or check your balance on online marketplaces outside of Walmart.com.
• If you get a call from a stranger who says that a loved one is in trouble and they ask you to provide gift card numbers to help them, hang up and contact your loved one directly.
• Don’t always trust your caller ID. Scammers can manipulate a caller ID to look like a legitimate company or government agency.
• Don’t purchase a gift card if it appears that the packaging has been altered or manipulated. If you have questions about a gift card, ask someone who works at that store.
• Don’t click on or respond to online ads or websites offering free gift cards. These are often scams.
• If you think you’ve been the victim of a gift card scam, report it to the Federal Trade Commission.
• If you think you’ve been the victim of a gift card scam involving Walmart Gift Cards, report it to (888) 537-5503.
  
  

Common Gift Card Scams

The Grandparent Scam

In this scam, the scammer will call a victim and indicate that a loved one is in some sort of trouble (i.e. kidnapped, arrested, etc.). Sometimes, the scammer pretends to be a lawyer or the loved one themselves and asks directly for money. The scammer then instructs the victim to purchase gift cards and give the gift card numbers to the scammer over the phone.

The Tech Support Scam

Perpetrators of tech support scams try to trick victims into believing their computers are infected and they need help. Some scammers pretend to be connected with Microsoft, Apple or a familiar security software company such as Norton or McAfee, and claim to have detected malware that poses an imminent threat to the person’s computer. Other scams feature planted website ads or pop-ups that display warning messages, some even featuring a clock ticking down the minutes before the victim’s hard drive will be destroyed by a virus — unless he or she calls a toll-free number for assistance in deactivating the menace. Such scammers will often ask for remote access to your computer to run phony diagnostic tests and pretend to discover defects in need of fixing. They’ll pressure you to pay for unnecessary repairs or new software, and ask for payment via gift cards.

Additional Resources

Avoid Being the Victim of a Scam

• Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
  
• Federal Trade Commission (FTC) 10 Things You Can Do to Avoid Fraud

Reporting Suspicious Behavior

Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

• Report IRS impersonation scams to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration or call 800-366-4484.
• If you think you might owe taxes, call the IRS directly at 800-829-1040.

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

• Report a complaint to the FTC, which handles complaints about deceptive or unfair business practices.
• For updates on other types of potential scams, check out the FTC’s “scam alert” website.
  
  

Government Impostor Scam

Scammers sometimes pretend to be government officials to get you to send them money. They might promise lottery winnings if you pay “taxes” or other fees, or they might threaten you with arrest or a lawsuit if you don’t pay a supposed debt. Regardless of their tactics, their goal is the same: to get you to send them money.

IRS Scam

During tax season, scammers pretend to be from the IRS or other Government Agencies to scare customers into sending them money. They trick people into believing they owe taxes to the IRS. The scammers threaten those who refuse to pay with arrest, deportation, or loss of a business or driver’s license. They ask the victims to go to Walmart to send a money transfer or to put the money on a prepaid card or gift card.

In reality, the IRS usually first contacts people by mail – not by phone – about unpaid taxes. The IRS or any other government agency, such as prisons or jails, won’t ask for payment using a pre-paid debit card, gift cards, or money transfers. The agency also won’t ask for a credit card number over the phone.

Common Tactics Used by Callers Committing Fraud

• They use common names and fake IRS badge numbers
• They know the last four digits of the victim’s Social Security Number
• They make caller ID appear as if the IRS is calling
• They send bogus IRS emails to support their scam
• They call a second time claiming to be the police or DMV, and caller ID again supports their claim

What You Need to Know

1. If you owe federal taxes, or think you might owe taxes, hang up and call the IRS at 800-829-1040. IRS workers can help you with your payment questions
2. If you don’t owe taxes, call and report the incident to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 800-366-4484
3. You can also report a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission

How to Protect Yourself

Be alert for phone and email scams that use the IRS name or other Government Agencies

The IRS will never request personal or financial information by email, texting or any social media. You should forward scam emails to phishing@irs.gov. Don’t open any attachments or click on any links in those emails.

Additional Resources

• Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration
• ReportFraud.FTC.Gov
• Report Phishing
• Better Business Bureau Scam Tracker
• Ria Money Transfer Consumer Protection
• Fraud Warning

Walmart Foundation/Walmart.org Scam

Beware, scammers may be targeting individuals asking them to complete a form to receive grants or pandemic relief payments from the Walmart Foundation or Walmart.org. Neither the Walmart Foundation nor Walmart.org award money to individuals and neither send text messages or emails seeking applications for grants or pandemic relief payments. Don’t click on links within or respond to these text messages or emails; these are not legitimate.

Coronavirus Scam

Beware Scammers may be targeting customers asking them to send money in order to reserve a Coronavirus vaccine or government stimulus check. If you’re asked to wire money, provide a money order or load a prepaid/gift card to pay to reserve a Coronavirus vaccine or to obtain a government stimulus check, it is not legitimate.

Visit IRS Coronavirus Related Scams

Phishing

A fraud method in which the fraudster sends out a legitimate-looking email in an attempt to gather personal and financial information from recipients. The scammer sends an email to an unsuspecting customer that may look just like a legitimate Walmart email (including use of the Walmart logo.) If the customer falls for the bait (thus the “fishing” reference), the thief could get credit card numbers, PINs, account passwords, expiration dates, credit card/bank account numbers and even Social Security numbers. Learn more about phishing. Learn more

Vishing

Vishing is very similar to "phishing" but instead of occurring through email, vishing happens over the phone. In these scams, fraudsters pose as a trusted retailer or bank and obtain personal information from the customer by requesting they "verify" the information on file. The information gained is then used for fraudulent transactions.

A good rule of thumb: If someone is contacting you to verify your personal information, it is very likely you did not provide it to them in the first place, and it is not a legitimate request. Legitimate companies will not expect you to provide your social security number or other personal information when they call you. If you receive a call like this, do not provide any information. If in doubt, call back a trusted number for the company, such as the one on a statement or invoice, the back of your credit/debit card, or on their official website (Do not use the phone number provided by the person on the phone or sent through a suspicious email.). Learn more

Smishing

A combination of the terms "SMS" and "phishing." It is similar to phishing, but refers to fraudulent messages sent over SMS (text messaging) rather than email. The fraudster may text you saying you’ve won a free gift card. Remember, you can’t win a contest you didn’t enter. Walmart doesn’t notify winners of any contest via text message. Learn more

Tips to Avoid These Scams

• Never provide personal information in response to an unsolicited request, whether it is over the phone or internet. A trusted company will never ask a customer for highly sensitive information during a call they initiated. A financial institution may ask for the account holder’s partial Social Security Number for verification, but they will never ask for the entire Social Security Number, account number or PIN.
• Do not respond to any suspicious looking email, automated calls, or text messages.
• Don’t trust the Caller ID. Fraudsters can manipulate the Caller ID to have it display a legitimate business’ name. To be safe, you can check to see if the phone number matches the number that appears on your bank statement, credit/debit card, or on their official website.
• Avoid fraudulent sites by entering web addresses directly into the browser yourself or by using bookmarks you create. Do not click on links in emails that you did not directly request from a company or that look suspicious.
• If you have fallen victim to such a scam, contact your financial institution immediately to protect your accounts.

Don't respond or reply to an email, phone call, or text message that:

• Requires you to supply personal or account information directly in the email
• Requires you to click on a link to provide more personal or account information
• Threatens to close or suspend your account if you do not take immediate action
• Invites you to answer a survey that asks you to enter personal or account information
• States that your account has been compromised or that there has been third-party activity on your account, then asks you to enter or confirm your personal or account information
  
  

With an international company such as Walmart, brand abuse is inevitable. If you received an order confirmation email from Walmart but you did not place an order, it may be a phishing scam attempting to gather information, or in some cases, spread malware.

Signs of Fraud

• The recipient may have not placed a Walmart.com order
• The message contains very poor grammar.
• There is no order number or details about the order. A real order confirmation email contains the details of your order without clicking on any links, as well as where it is being shipped and the payment method.
• The email listed as the sender is not from an @walmart.com domain. You can see the embedded email address by hovering your cursor over the “from” line in the email.
• There may be multiple emails listed in the “to” line, or there may be “undisclosed recipients"

How to Protect Yourself

• If you actually placed an order and are suspicious about the email you received, log onto your Walmart.com account to check your order status. Remember not to click on any links within the email claiming to take you to your account.
• Keep your virus software updated on all your computers.

If you were a victim of fraud, you should file a report with your local law enforcement agency along with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Additional Resources

• OnlineOnGuard: Malware
• Better Business Bureau Scam Tracker
• Fraud Warning
  
  

Scammers may pose as relatives or friends, calling or sending messages to urge you to wire money or load prepaid cards immediately. They’ll say they need cash to help with an emergency---like getting out of jail, paying a hospital bill, or needing to leave a foreign country. The goal is to trick you into sending money before you realize it is a scam.

Common Tactics Used by Callers Committing Fraud

• They call or text from numbers that look familiar
• They play on your emotions
• They swear you to secrecy
• They need the money immediately

What You Need to Know

• Caller ID can be faked
• Always talk to someone to verify what was told to you
• If you believe you have responded to a scam, file a complaint with the FTC 1-877-FTC HELP or online at ftc.gov/complaint

How to Protect Yourself

Be alert for phone and email scams from individuals that could be impersonating a loved one. Providing gift card numbers over the phone should not be a method of providing funds. Once the numbers are provided, the funds are gone. ALWAYS validate that the loved one is in trouble.

Mystery shopping, sometimes referred to as secret shopping, is where an individual is hired to “act” like a customer, and evaluate services at a business. Walmart does NOT utilize these services or hire associates to perform services on behalf of other retailers or companies. However, scammers take advantage of these types of programs by sending fraudulent solicitations via mail, text, or email to entice consumers to evaluate the retail experience. Often times these offers of employment are accompanied by a fake check made out for a large amount of money or otherwise offer immediate employment with a good salary and minimal effort required.

Signs of Fraud

• These communications are often associated with fictional departments or branding initiatives with letters or emails coming from addresses that appear to be “Wal-Mart” or an address such as “admin@walmart.com”.
• There is usually another email address embedded in the “from” line. You can see the embedded email address by hovering your cursor over the “from” line in the email.
• There may be multiple emails listed in the “to” line, or to “undisclosed recipients”
• A website may be lacking Walmart branding, the Walmart Privacy Notice, and the general look and feel of other Walmart websites. Other signs may include using outdated Walmart logos and branding. (e.g Walmart typed as “Wal-Mart” or “Wal«Mart”)
• Associates hired by Walmart are required to complete a hiring process, including legally required paperwork and drug testing.
• Walmart will NEVER mail you a check and ask that you deposit it in order to purchase an item or service and keep the remainder of the amount as payment for services.

These communications ask consumers to assist with Walmart's secret shopping efforts through evaluation of MoneyGram services we provide and often lead to consumer financial loss or identity theft.

How These Scams Work

1. The scam artist sends a letter or email solicitation describing a paid, stay-at-home position in which the consumer will evaluate customer services at large retail stores. In reality, these stores have no affiliation with the scam artist placing the ad.
2. After responding to the ad, the consumer receives an "employment packet" containing a training assignment, a list of products to purchase at different stores and a realistic-looking cashier's check, often for several thousand dollars.
3. The "training assignment" is to deposit the check into the consumer's bank account, pose as a shopper and then use Money Gram to send the balance of the check's proceeds (minus the cost of the purchases and the consumer's "salary") to an address outside the United States.

The problem is that the check is fake; so when it bounces (is returned to your account by your bank as “insufficient funds” or a “drawn on a closed account”) – which occurs after the money is wired—the consumer is accountable (in some cases, criminally) to the bank for the entire amount of the fake check, plus additional penalty fees. Also, in some instances, consumers are asked for personal bank account information. The company will then "deposit" money into their account for payment and funds with which to perform their Secret Shopper tasks. These consumers often then become victims of identity theft or have their accounts drained by the fraudster.

How to Protect Yourself

• Don't open or respond to unsolicited emails asking you to become a mystery shopper or secret shopper.
• Never deposit a check you receive in the mail from a "mystery shopping" company. No legitimate business will pay in advance and ask you to send back a portion of the money.
• If you have posted your resume to an online job site, verify with the site any job solicitations you receive.
• Don't click on or respond to online ads or web sites offering free gift cards.
• Remember, if it sounds too good to believe, it is!

Walmart Practices

• Walmart never solicits mystery shoppers via e-mail, mail, or any other public means
• These shopper offers are not from Walmart and should be deleted or reported, per the next section

To Report Suspected Wire Transfer Scams

If you receive an email related to, or suspect you have been a victim of, a wire transfer scam such as the "mystery shopper," please fill out the online complaint form. You can also report the matter by calling 1-800-MONEYGRAM (1-800-666-3947) for English or 1-800-955-7777 for Spanish.

If you suspect you have received a fraudulent email claiming to be from Walmart, please send the email directly to Walmart at OnlineAbuse@walmart.com as an attachment. For investigatory purposes, please do not cut and paste the email into the body of the email or forward the email to us; instead, send the email as an attachment.

If you were a victim of fraud via the internet, you should file a report with your local law enforcement agency along with the Internet Crime Complaint Center (ICCC). The ICCC is a partnership between the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center. You can make a report with the ICCC.

Additional Resources

• Mystery Shopper Scams
• Secret Shopper / Mystery Shopper Scams: A Job That Only
• Pays the Scammer!
• The Truth About Becoming a Mystery Shopper
• Mystery/Secret Shopper Schemes Alert
• Better Business Bureau Scam Tracker
• Fraud Warning
  
  

Walmart In-Store Experience Survey

Walmart offers a survey, located at survey.walmart.com, from invitations appearing on receipts in our stores. Customers are offered entry to the survey through register receipts or emails from our survey team, and the survey can only be completed online. The survey participants may choose to enter a sweepstakes which offers five winners a $1,000 gift card every 3 months, and 750 winners a $100 gift card. Winners are notified via phone and certified mail. Gift cards are not given away through Twitter, Facebook, or text message. If you receive a notice through one of these channels, it is likely a scam. Do not click on any links in these messages.

You also may receive Walmart surveys related to other services that you use, such as Online Grocery or Pharmacy.

Walmart Customer Spark Community

The Walmart Customer Spark Community consists of Walmart customers who have agreed to be a part of our online community. Our goal is to foster interaction and involvement among our customer base while strengthening the Walmart brand through customer feedback.

The community is invitation only. Members are invited to join the Walmart Customer Spark Community and confirm their interest via a double opt-in process. We engage community members through various activities and members are rewarded for their participation. The Walmart Customer Spark Community is proprietary, and members agree to treat any and all information shared through the community as confidential.

The Walmart Customer Spark Community will never ask for any sensitive information such as passwords to other sites or social security numbers. If you receive a request like this, please contact sparkcommunity@walmart.com.

If you would like to learn more about the community or if you are receiving emails about the community and would like to unsubscribe, please email sparkcommunity@walmart.com.

Surveys About Your Recent Shopping Trip

Our goal as a company is to put our customers first. One way we can learn about and improve our customers’ store experiences is through feedback surveys. Sometimes after shopping at Walmart, we will send you an invitation asking you to take a survey. Our intention is to allow you, the customer, to tell us about your store visit, shopping experience and gather other general feedback. The goal of our survey is ultimately to learn how we are doing and what we can do to make shopping at Walmart the best it can be.

Walmart will never ask for any sensitive information such as passwords or social security numbers. If you receive a request like this, please contact surveysupport@walmart.com.

If you are having an issue with a survey, would like to learn more or if you are receiving these surveys and would like to opt-out, please email surveysupport@walmart.com.

Walmart Practices

• Walmart’s survey emails contain a link to the Walmart Privacy Notice
• Walmart does not offer gift cards via text messages, phone calls, online advertisements on websites that are not a Walmart.com site, or through social media sites for “likes” or sharing a post. Walmart will only call or text you with offers if you opt-in to receive such messages.
• Walmart will never ask you to email personal information such as:
  • Passwords
  • Social Security Numbers
  • Bank account details
  • Credit card numbers
  • Other financial information

Walmart will not make unsolicited calls or send emails asking for such information. However, for fraud prevention purposes, Walmart customer service may ask for you to verify personal information such as address or telephone number, that you have previously provided.

Signs of Fraud

The surveys we describe above are our legitimate surveys. Scammers may try to imitate Walmart to gain access to your personal information. The following are signs of fraudulent surveys:

• Poor grammar
• Poor spelling
• Outdated logos or branding (e.g. use of Wal-Mart or WAL-MART, instead of Walmart)
• There is often fine print disclosing that the offer is not associated with the brand listed
• To receive the “free” gift card you are asked to complete several steps and to request that several of your friends complete the same steps

How to Protect Yourself

• Don't open or respond to unsolicited e-mails, internet pop-up ads, or text messages indicating you’ve won a gift card or asking that you complete a survey.
• Don't click on or respond to online ads or web sites offering free gift cards.
• Remember, if it sounds too good to believe, it is!

If you were a victim of fraud via the internet, you should file a report with your local law enforcement along with the Internet Crime Complaint Center (ICCC). The ICCC is a partnership between the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center. You can make a report with the ICCC by going to the following link: ICCC.

Additional Resources

• Better Business Bureau Scam Tracker
  
• Fraud Awareness

The goal of this scam is to encourage consumers to take multiple surveys and pay for shipping in exchange for a “free” gift, like a high quality piece of jewelry, a store branded gift card for a significant amount, or another product. However, after fulfilling the requirements, the consumer may never receive the promised gift, or they will be charged more than just shipping.

How These Scams Work

1. Consumers either receive a spam email or come across a web advertisement or web site from “Walmart” offering a high quality piece of jewelry or other gift in exchange for participating in surveys and paying the cost of shipping.
2. The consumer is taken to a web site that has branding that makes it appear to be a legitimate merchant (ex: Walmart), there the consumer is asked to enter an email address and other personal information, including home address, phone number and credit/debit card numbers. The Privacy Notice on the site will typically indicate that this information will be sold to other businesses for their own purposes, such as telemarketing and junk mail.
3. Once this information is entered, the consumer may be asked to take part in a series of surveys.
4. Once the surveys are complete (if they were offered at all), the consumer is given the opportunity to select their “free” gift, but it will end up costing the consumer a great deal of money in fees, hidden subscriptions, and unwanted products. In addition, at the end of the process there is no guarantee that the consumer will even receive the gift.

The above example shows several signs of being a typical fraudulent Walmart email, such as an outdated logo and having a PO Box listed as an address.

Walmart Practices

• Walmart does not solicit online for individuals to complete online surveys for gift cards or free gifts, nor do we send unsolicited emails asking individuals to participate in our surveys
• Walmart does not endorse and is not affiliated with any "sponsor offer" related program or survey
• Walmart will never send you emails or surveys that are contingent on your making purchases, subscriptions, or fulfilling other financial requirements
• Drawings for the legitimate Walmart receipt survey occur four times a year. Winners of the register receipt gift card are notified by certified mail, never via email

How to Protect Yourself

• Don't open or respond to unsolicited e-mails offering free gift cards or other gifts
• Don't click on or respond to online ads or websites offering free gift cards or other gifts
• Pay attention to the website URL. If the URL does not match the branding to a legitimate website navigate away from the website

To Report Suspected Sponsor Offer Scams

If you suspect you have been directed to a phony website claiming to be connected with Walmart, please send an email with the link to abuse@walmart.com. The email abuse team will then work with authorities to put an end to the particular scam.

If you suspect you have received a fraudulent email claiming to be from Walmart, please send the email directly to Walmart at OnlineAbuse@walmart.com with the scam as an attachment. For investigatory purposes, please do not cut and paste the email, forward the email, or change the subject line.

Additional Resources

• Better Business Bureau Scam Tracker