Beware of the Cadbury 70th anniversary scam on WhatsApp!

If you have received (or receive) the below message on WhatsApp, then do not click on the link. It’s another of those ‘anniversary’ scams.

First, some facts

1. Cadbury was founded in 1824. So, this year is its 194th anniversary (and not 70th)

2. Cadbury hasn’t announced any kind of anniversary offers on its official website (https://www.cadbury.co.uk/)

3. If you carefully read the link, you will notice this flaw:

It is not an ‘i’ but the number 1 (in a font that looks like an i)

Here’s what happened when I clicked on the link in the message

1. It took me to a website that asked me 4 questions.

2. After I answered all the questions, it showed me a congratulatory message followed by instructions on how to proceed (see picture below)

3. I followed the instructions and shared the message with 3 contacts (these were my alternate numbers), 5 times each.

4. After this, it asked me to install 1 app and run it for 30 seconds and only then I would be able to claim the free basket.

5. Clicking on these options took me to Google Play. The first app’s download size was 280 MB and the other one’s was 141 MB.

I didn’t take the trouble of going any further because it was clear as day that all this was a scam. The first 4 facts stated above are good enough to prove this.

Our advice:

1. Always double-check such offers. The best way to do so is to visit the official website of the company.

2. Never click on links in messages that talk about such offers. Although in my case it didn’t infect my device with a virus, it could in yours.

3. Look for errors or anything abnormal in links in such messages. In this case, the link looks like a genuine one but is fake. And according to www.scamadviser.com, it is not active.

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Rajiv Singha