Guardia Civil warns of Whatsapp Coca-Cola scam offering mobile users €500 of fuel for €2

Cybercriminals are targeting mobile users with a new scam via Whatsapp in which they offer cards enabling the holder to get €500 of fuel for just €2.

The Guardia Civil has warned of a scam that is taking place through WhatsApp that several users have denounced in recent days. Specifically, mobile users receive a message on their phones in which they are invited to be part of a Coca-Cola promotion in which they can receive up to €500 for their supposed 130th anniversary, as reported this Saturday, July 16, by lasprovincias.es.

ALERT‼️ Coca-Cola is not giving away gifts for its 130th anniversary. It is a fraudulent WhatsApp message. “#NoPiques”, the Guardia Civil has warned through its official Twitter account @guardiacivil.

⚠️#ALERTA‼️ Coca-Cola no está haciendo regalos por su 130 aniversario. Se trata de un WhatsApp fraudulento que dirige a un formulario web donde ofrecen tarjetas de 500 € en⛽ Shell y en realidad suscribe a un servicio de 43,50 € cada 14 días #NoPiques👇https://t.co/ODAjqYQ7Zp pic.twitter.com/5FgWaU44c5

— Guardia Civil 🇪🇸 (@guardiacivil) July 11, 2022

As reported by the Internet Security Office, the user receives a message that seems to genuinely come from Coca-Cola. It promotes gifts for the drinks company’s 130th anniversary, accompanied by a link where the gifts can supposedly be purchased. After clicking on the link, the user is redirected to a fraudulent website that appears to be the company’s website, but actually has a fake domain.

On this website, it asks the user to answer a survey where they can win a mini fridge. Once done, the next step is to select a gift box from those displayed. When choosing it, the message will always be the same: you have won the prize and in order to claim it you must send the message to 20 friends through WhatsApp who must fill out a form with personal data.

Users are then redirected to a new page, where they are told how to purchase a card that offers the holder €500 worth of fuel for just €2. In order to obtain the card, the user must fill in a form with their personal and bank details.

In reality, it is a subscription to a service where the user actually agrees to pay €43.50 every 14 days. On this occasion, the cybercriminals have not been so smart. They have exposed their own fraud, as it is described in the fine print. This is another attempt at online phishing by criminals.

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