Kmart issues warning about a new scam targeting parents

By Livia Gamble 

A new online scam targeting Kmart shoppers has tricked hundreds of parents into giving away their personal details to fraudsters. 

Kmart has issued a warning about a competition shared on Facebook by the fake page ‘Kmart_Australia’, offering “lucky winners” the chance to win six months worth of Johnson’s baby products. 

“This is not a Kmart promotion”

A spokesperson for Kmart confirmed to news.com.au that the competition is fake and they are taking the scam very seriously.  

“We can confirm this is not a Kmart promotion. This information shared has been taken extremely seriously, and we are committed to ensuring the appropriate steps are taken to report this,” they said.

“We encourage anyone that has been affected by fraudulent activity to report them to Scamwatch at www.scamwatch.gov.au or report to Facebook.

“Alternatively, customers can get in contact with our customer service team who will also raise this with Scamwatch.”

Image source: Facebook

The ad, featuring Kmart’s well-known logo as well as branding from Johnson’s, invites parents to take a quiz for their chance to win.

Questions include how many children they have, contact details and other household data. It isn’t known who is behind the scam or where the data is going. 

How to spot an online scam

So with hundreds of online competitions to choose from, how can you tell which ones are legitimate and which ones are scams?

The ACCC has an eBook called The little black book of scams, which has some great advice about how we can all protect ourselves online and what to look out for.

Here’s a summary of their Golden Rules for protecting yourself. 

• Be aware that scams exist: If someone you don’t know approaches you online with a deal that seems too good to be true, sadly, it probably is. 
• Do your research: If someone you don’t know is contacting you, do some research, including a Google image search of any of their photos to see if they’ve been used elsewhere. The same goes for competitions: a quick google search can help identify if it’s a scam.
• Delete anything suspicious: Random text messages that appear to be from your bank, emails or pop-up windows – delete them all. Alternatively, you could do an online search of the phone number or email address. 
• Choose your passwords carefully: Sure, it’s easier to have the same password for everything, but is it very secure?
• Never send money to someone you don’t know: That includes bank transfers, credit card details and personal documents.

What to do if you think you have been scammed

If you think you have been involved in a financial scam, contact your bank with the details, and they’ll take it from there. 

The ACCC is also recommending scams be reported via their Report a Scam page. 

“This helps us to warn people about current scams, monitor trends and disrupt scams where possible. Please include details of the scam contact you received, for example, email or screenshot, says the Scam Watch website. 

Most importantly, spread the word and help keep other parents safe.