A WhatsApp message promising what everyone could do with right now – a free beer – is nothing more than a dangerous hoax.
If you get the message, which is seemingly from Dutch beer company Heineken, ignore it completely.
The message promises to give you four free kegs of Heineken beer for filling out a survey, but it's just a scam designed to steal your personal information.
There's a 'keg counter' at the top of the message saying how many are supposedly remaining. But don't be duped, it's what's known as a 'phishing' attack.
These appear to be genuine and usually ask you to click on a link or fill in some information. At the other end are cyber-crooks who will use the information you supply to try and break into your social media or financial accounts.
Heineken itself has dismissed the message as a scam and urged users not to click on the link. The company responded to a user on Twitter who queried whether or not it was genuine.
According to consumer reporters Which?, more than £1.2 billion was lost to scammers in 2019.
The researchers say fraud has become one of the most prevalent crimes in the UK, which often results in devastating consequences for victims.
Gareth Shaw, Head of Money at Which? said: 'The coronavirus outbreak has created the perfect storm for scams, with fraudsters using callous tactics to exploit people's fears and vulnerability for their own financial gain.
'As new scams spring up daily, our alert service aims to help people protect themselves and their loved ones.
'Everyone should be extra cautious about clicking on links in any unsolicited emails and texts or answering calls.
'Make sure your computers, mobile phones and tablets are supported by the latest security updates, and consider installing antivirus software to minimise threats.'
As much as we would like to believe it, nobody is going to be giving us any free beer today.
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