Beware of the WhatsApp scam that promises free Adidas shoes!

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So, this other day I get a forwarded message from a friend early in the morning. I thought it was the usual good morning message but it was not and read as follows:

“Adidas is giving away 3000 Free Pair of Shoes to celebrate its 93rd anniversary. Get your free shoes at <link>”

It didn’t take me long to deduce that this message was part of a scam – thanks to my profession. But, to other users (like my friend here), such messages may appear genuine. So, I told my friend that the message was fake and not to forward it any further. Later, I did these 3 things.

1) I checked the actual link

I copied the link and paste it to my ‘notes’ app. As you can see, on the outside, the link reads https://adidas.com but the actual URL is https://xn--adids-m11b.com/ – which, in any way, does not look like it is related to Adidas.

When I clicked on the link (in a safe environment), it took me to a page that was not loading and displayed an error message. But, it is safe to assume that the page was designed to steal personal information or bank details or drop a malware on the device.

WhatsApp Scam Adidas

Fig 1


2) I ran the link on https://www.scamadviser.com

Scamadvisor.com helps check if a website is safe or not. The result for my link was as I had expected:

• Suspicious
• Hidden identity

 

Fig 2

 

3) I visited the official website of Adidas

As a rule of thumb, I visited www.adidas.com (co.in as well) to verify the offer advertised in the message. And for obvious reasons, I could not find anything related to it – because there was not any offer in the first place.

So, what do we take away from this post?

• Never act on messages that urge you to click on a link – especially when they talk about offers (discounts, contests, promotions, etc.)

• Follow the steps mentioned in this post to verify the source and authenticity of such messages.

• If you receive such messages from a friend, advise them not to act (click on a link or reply) and not to share them with their contacts.

• If you have received such a message from an unknown number, consider blocking it.

• Install a mobile antivirus app that can block your access to harmful websites and installation of infected apps.

WhatsApp Anti-Spam feature
Given the popularity of WhatsApp across the world, it is no wonder that scammers are trying to use this app to widen their kill zone. In-mid Jan 2018, news emerged that WhatsApp is testing a new anti-spam feature which will help users stay away from spam messages (like the ones discussed in this post). This feature will be developed for both iOS and Android. So, let’s hope the feature is rolled out soon and gives us a break from such pesky, unworldly scams!

You may read more about this anti-spam feature here

If you found this post helpful, then share it with your friends on Facebook, WhatsApp (on mobile) or Twitter by using the share buttons below. Stay safe!

Rajiv Singha

Rajiv Singha

50 Comments

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  1. Avatar sham asnani • February 13, 2018 at 11:33 AM

    thank you for the information it will help many

    Reply
  2. Avatar Sushant Chaudhari • February 13, 2018 at 1:17 PM

    Thank you Rajib, This helps. QH Awesome software, beautiful creation.

    Reply
  3. Avatar Mohd Tasleem • February 13, 2018 at 1:31 PM

    Nowadays, the hand phone is so vulnerable to such attacks. The messages are so convincing and appears to be so genuine that the user might get carried away.

    Thanks for the article!

    Reply
  4. Avatar Gurpreet singh • February 13, 2018 at 1:40 PM

    Thanks to you i had also shared this scam but when i had to choose my shoe size then it fails

    Reply
  5. Avatar RAHUL KUMAR RANJAN • February 13, 2018 at 2:37 PM

    HELP ME

    Reply
  6. Avatar HARESH SHAH • February 13, 2018 at 5:14 PM

    VERY INFORMATIVE, EYE OPENER AND TIMELY MESSAGE.
    I ALSO RECD. SUCH MESSAGE BUT DIDN’T OPENED IT.
    THANX RAJIB

    Reply
  7. Avatar Prakash Jasani • February 13, 2018 at 7:44 PM

    Good Information.

    Reply
  8. Avatar Sameer Mahajan • February 13, 2018 at 7:56 PM

    Thanks for ur advice

    Reply
  9. Avatar BISWAJIT CHAKRAVARTY • February 14, 2018 at 10:05 AM

    I liked the content.

    Reply
  10. Avatar BISWAJIT CHAKRAVARTY • February 14, 2018 at 10:09 AM

    Please also let me know how shall I be able to share whatsapp mobile to alert others

    Reply
  11. Avatar Jitender kumar • February 14, 2018 at 11:32 AM

    Thanks Rajib for your valuable post. I will inform my Contacts.

    Reply
  12. Avatar SUNIL KUMAR JAIN • February 14, 2018 at 2:26 PM

    A very good initiative. We are also able to learn to check the actual link by copying it and pasting it on notepad.

    Reply
  13. Avatar Tarun • February 14, 2018 at 4:38 PM

    Thanks Rajib for alerting us and providing indepth info.

    Reply
  14. Avatar raj kumar • February 14, 2018 at 5:23 PM

    hello

    Reply
  15. Avatar neelesh mishra • February 14, 2018 at 5:42 PM

    I did click on the link twice but since it did not open so I had to discontinue. Is it still unsafe?

    Reply
  16. Avatar SUNIL PANCHOLI • February 14, 2018 at 6:05 PM

    thanks

    Reply
  17. Avatar Nagendram • February 14, 2018 at 8:07 PM

    Nice

    Reply
  18. Avatar manish78katiyar@gmail.com • February 14, 2018 at 9:31 PM

    thanks

    Reply
  19. Avatar sanjeev kumar • February 14, 2018 at 11:09 PM

    thank for giving information about fack commitment on whatsapp

    Reply
  20. Avatar AJAY GAHLAUT • February 15, 2018 at 9:33 AM

    Good post in interest of public.
    thanks

    Reply
  21. Avatar AVICHBTY • February 15, 2018 at 11:30 AM

    very recently I received a message in whatsapp from an unknown number starting with 1234… ending with my mobile no stating it as international telegraph check. As it was suspicious I had to delete my whatsapp account and had to reset my handset to factory data setting. Don’t know if it is safe enogh or not.

    Reply
  22. Avatar ANIRUDHA GANGULY • February 15, 2018 at 6:43 PM

    Sir,
    your article is very good.I will be aware in future to click in these lucratibe sites.

    Sincerely,
    Anirudha Ganguly

    Reply
  23. Avatar Divya • February 15, 2018 at 10:18 PM

    It’s really a very good knowledge point
    Thanks

    Reply
  24. Avatar Prafull Kumar • February 16, 2018 at 4:31 AM

    There r very very good antivirus. Please used.. Thank so much .

    Reply
  25. Avatar abhijit • February 16, 2018 at 10:37 AM

    sir i clicked this type of link……..please help me what should i do now

    Reply
  26. Avatar Rajendra • February 16, 2018 at 12:50 PM

    It’s encouraging to know about cyber security. Your article is very helpful. Please intimate us more.

    Reply
  27. Avatar Ashish Kumar Shrivastav • February 17, 2018 at 10:43 AM

    Thanks for informing for the news sir.

    Reply
  28. Avatar Azhar • February 17, 2018 at 4:07 PM

    Good service

    Reply
  29. Avatar ime • February 18, 2018 at 2:37 AM

    good job @ Rajib

    Reply
  30. Avatar Rajendra Saindane • February 18, 2018 at 6:37 PM

    Posted article is very helpful to understand a fraud.
    thanks for alerting to us.

    regds,
    rajendra saindane

    Reply
  31. Avatar gopal krishna majumdar • February 19, 2018 at 2:02 PM

    Thanks for your informetion

    Reply
  32. Avatar Sunil Thomas • February 21, 2018 at 4:45 PM

    Great. Thanks for the alert, Rajib. Appreciate for promoting such cyber security awareness. Looking forward to more…

    Reply
  33. Avatar Pritam De • February 22, 2018 at 1:43 PM

    It’s a nice app

    Reply
  35. Avatar L Surya Prakash • February 23, 2018 at 2:49 PM

    Thank you Rajib .

    Reply
  36. Avatar Karan Uniyal • February 24, 2018 at 7:25 PM

    I ALSO WAIT THIS SOFTWARE WHOES WHTSAP ANTI SPAM

    Reply
  37. Avatar ajayanitamow@gmail.com • February 25, 2018 at 2:14 PM

    LIKE IT

    Reply
  38. Avatar Jatin Talukdar • February 26, 2018 at 7:53 AM

    Quick heal antivirus is the best for my a droid

    Reply
  39. Avatar ratan barman • February 27, 2018 at 6:08 PM

    i am satisfied.

    Reply
  40. Avatar Kartik • March 1, 2018 at 8:45 PM

    I appreciate your gesture… keeping blogging..

    Reply
  42. Avatar usman • March 4, 2018 at 12:43 PM

    i want to know my subscription date of q heal

    Reply
  43. Avatar Aakash • March 8, 2018 at 11:10 PM

    this app is awesome

    Reply
  44. Avatar Ajit V Bhide • March 9, 2018 at 7:08 AM

    Thank you, Mr Singha for the timely warning!

    Reply
  45. Avatar PARTHASARATHY V IYER • March 10, 2018 at 10:28 AM

    very nice nature, super! super! super……………….

    Reply
  46. Avatar sidhant • March 17, 2018 at 9:35 AM

    i checked his again and now the location is pakistan.

    loving quick heal total security.thumbs up.

    Reply

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