DACO alerts about new scam scheme with $1,000 coupons for Costco

The Interim Secretary of the Department of Consumer Affairs (DACO), Lisinette González Ruiz, alerted of a new fraudulent scheme via e-mail, this time using the logo of a well-known company to try to access the personal data of the consumer.

“The DACO Consumer Fraud Detection Unit has uncovered a new type of sophisticated fraud. The new scheme is based on an email with slogans and information about the “Costco Wholesale” business where it indicates to the consumer that they have won a $1,000.00 voucher at said store and that the only thing they have to do to redeem the same is take a surveyto. By clicking on the aforementioned survey link, what it actually does is allow the criminal elements behind this scheme to access personal data on a consumer’s device,” the DACO secretary said through written statements.

This method is quite complicated, since the content in the “e-mail” appears to come from the company, however, as we have always pointed out, the consumer must validate certain data from these e-mails, in particular the “e-mail” address that It comes from.. in this case, the address is [email protected]. The official root (name) for this specific merchant is @costco.com, not @io.com. We also emphasize that great care must be taken when clicking on links on these fraudulent platforms, as they tend to remain on the device for several days,” added González Ruiz.

The DACO President added, “The development of this new scheme leaves consumers feeling overwhelmed when looking for the prize they are offering. We urge caution when they receive these ‘emails’ and before taking any action, in addition to reviewing sender information, they also review the company.” .

In December 2022, DACO implemented a new fraud detection policy that seeks to keep consumers alert to new forms of consumer fraud.

González Ruíz urged consumers who received these emails to contact the agency through the agency’s social networking pages for Facebook And Twitter (DACO for your benefit), as well as the agency’s Internet portal: daco.pr.gov.