21 Scams That Costco Is Currently Warning Its Customers About
Costco is one of the largest retailers in America. From home supplies to food to patio furniture; you can buy almost everything you want from a single trip to Costco. Given its size, Costco is also a breeding ground for scammers who want to prey on Costco’s massive customer base. And these scammers aren’t just trying to commit fraudulent acts in one way, Costco has flagged 21 scams that they currently want their customers to be aware of. Take a look at all of the current Costco scams below to make sure you and your loved ones are protected.
Fraudulent Cart Notification
Have you ever left an eCommerce website with items in a shopping cart? This scam sends you a notification to remind you to complete a purchase for abandoned goods in what appears to be a Costco-branded online shopping cart. Whenever something like this lands in your inbox, be sure to go right to Costco’s website to ensure that the email isn’t a scam.
Fraudulent Autumn Giveaway Email
Always be cautious of any email that comes to your inbox asking you to “claim your reward” and emails from Costco are no different. This particular one was preying on people in Autumn, but you should always assume that no season is safe.
Fraudulent Facebook Offer
This scam involves a fake Facebook page that asks you to engage with a specific department at Costco. As a consumer, it can be tempting to find new ways to receive discounts or save money, but you need to be certain that you’re only communicating with verified accounts.
Fraudulent Survey Text
There is a scam at every turn and this one is especially devious. It will come via text and then take you to a landing page that says “Congratulations! You have been chosen to receive a special reward (minimum $120 value) All you need to do is answer a few questions about your recent shopping experience at Costco.” Then it goes on to tell you that you have less than 5 minutes to complete the survey and only 10 people will have the opportunity to be chosen.
Fraudulent Satisfaction Survey
It is unclear as to the exact nature of this scam, but there could be many ways within the survey where the scammers can try to steal your personal information. Although we all love having our opinions heard, there is rarely any good that comes from it. So why take the risk?
Fraudulent Facebook Post
This one is great because it is so outrageous that no one should ever fall for it. And yet, plenty of people probably do. In the Facebook post, which is allegedly written by the CEO of Costco, anyone who comments on the page will be sent a gift basket with $250 worth of food plus a $35 Costco voucher. Look, Costco is a massive company with deep pockets, but giving away hundreds of millions in free food and money doesn’t seem like a sustainable business practice.
Fraudulent Survey
At no point, is any retailer, let alone Costco, going to give you $500 just for filling out a survey. Costco has millions and millions of customers, if they handed out $500 to every customer for filling out a survey the company would be in financial ruin. Like most of these scams, taking a second to use common sense will always be to your benefit.
Texts Regarding Loyalty Reward
Brands love loyal customers. And loyal customers love brands that reward them for their loyalty. This scam consists of a text message claiming that a $101 loyalty reward is in the mail and on its way to your house. The text also consists of a sketchy looking URL that is likely going to destroy your life if you click on it. So don’t. If there really is a loyalty reward on its way, you can wait a few days to get it.
Overcharge Reimbursement Texts
There is a theme here and it is that scammers love to prey on people via text, but this one is extra special. You went shopping at Costco (in-store or online) and you were overcharged for an item, so the great people at Costco reached out via text and sent a shady-looking URL asking you to claim your reimbursement. Had this actually happened, you know what Costco would do? Either nothing or they would credit your payment method and possibly notify you via email.
Survey With Exclusive Offers
Everyone loves free money or rewards, but like the other fraudulent survey scams in this article, you need to be careful. Not every survey is a scam, but there are so many that exist, you have to ask yourself if pressing your luck to win a $50 gift is worth the potential fallout? The answer is: probably not.
Free Television
A free TV for you! How nice of Costco! What ever could you have done to deserve a free TV? The answer…nothing. You did nothing to deserve or receive a free TV. And you should remember that if you ever have a fraudulent offer to get a free TV in your inbox.
Coronavirus Stimulus
This scam claims that Costco wants to give $130 as a Covid-19 stimulus gift for all of it’s loyal customers. All you need to do is fill out a survey that definitely won’t wind up ruining your life in some way, shape or form.
Exclusive Giveaway
Another exclusive giveaway. Because out of millions of customers, you won the Costco lottery. Be sure, you did not. At this point, Costco should just commit to never giving customers anything for free and make that their corporate messaging. It would be much easier than trying to keep track of all of these very convincing acts of fraud. Just simply say, “Dear Customers, we will never give you anything for free via text, email or otherwise. If you see anything like that, it is a scam.” That would really clear all of this up.
Fake Interview Confirmation
Pro Tip: Confirmation emails usually come after you already have an interview set up with a prospective employer. Not to say that cold email attempts to recruit people don’t exist, but it’s highly unlikely that you would ever receive an email like that that isn’t a scam.
Fraudulent Executive Rewards Redemption
Everyone loves rewards, that is why credit card are so popular. Well, that and because people also love to buy things that they can’t always afford. This scam comes via email and says ” Dear Member, Your 2% cash reward is now ready to be redeemed. Your reward is based on purchases from the date you paid your Costco Membership through today’s date.” Do not fall for this!
Citi Rewards Direct Deposit Scam
The saddest part of these scams is that someone, somewhere actually falls for these. In this scam, you receive a text message from a number claiming to be Costco. In the message, they supply you with a URL to click in order to redeem your Citi Rewards Direct Deposit. If you get this message from Costco or anyone else, delete it immediately and block the number.
Redeem Your Gift Card!
Redeem your gift card?!?! We have some bad news for you… there is no gift card. There never was any gift card. Just a scammer trying to steal your money, information, or identity. Nothing in life is free and a gift card to Costco is no different.
Supermarket Customer Sweepstakes Raffle Draw
Of all the wild Costco scams that we are looking at today, this one might be the wildest of them all. This scam consists of receiving hard mail that you — you of all people in the country! — have won a sweepstakes that you probably never entered. Not only that, your winnings are $460,000! But there’s a catch! You only get a small check of $7,000 (that will no doubt bounce) with the letter and you have to pay $3,800 just to process the rest fo the payment.
Text Survey
It is hard to believe that anyone would fall prey to a text scam like this, but if it didn’t work then why would scammers continue to do it? Whether you receive a text like this from Costco or any other company, do yourself a favor and immediately block the phone number and then delete the text from your life. You can thank us later.
USPS Scam
This scam is an online fraud with the intention of making a consumer worried that their package isn’t going to arrive. The scam appears to come from the United States Postal Service and it warns the recipient that their package was damaged and unable to be delivered. Then it prompts you to click on a “Redelivery Request”. While this scam looks legit, it is always best to verify any delivery problems by checking your own tracking numbers or calling the USPS.
Letter Survey
This scam is an iteration of several that we have already gone over. By now, you might be thinking to yourself, “Maybe I should never engage with Costco’s emails or surveys or other communication?” Five hundred dollars is a lot of money, we get it, but is it enough money to risk your personal or financial information? Likely not.
Final Thoughts
Scammers have come up with a million and one ways to try and separate you from your money or your identity. These days, you need to live by the words “If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.” But no one is perfect, sometimes we fall prey to a new scam we haven’t seen before. So to stay protected from all the scams that Costco has flagged, bookmark this Costco customer service website.