Common Father’s Day scams to watch out for
Scammers look for easy ways to con gift buyers with heavily discounted goods or tempting competitions – but knowing what to look for can help you avoid falling victim.
Each year, in the run-up to Father's Day, Which? spots various sneaky scams that claim to offer bargain barbecues, beer slabs or other tempting gifts. All aim to steal your personal and financial information or convince you to buy goods that simply don't exist.
Below, we look at some common scams we've seen around Father's Day and explain how to spot and report them.
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WhatsApp giveaways
Which? has repeatedly warned about various scams peddled over WhatsApp by fraudsters impersonating well-known brands. In previous years, we've seen Father's Day specials purporting to be from B&Q, Cadbury, Heineken and Screwfix.
These scams typically begin as WhatsApp messages that offer free products from a popular brand for Father's Day.
The messages will include a malicious link. These often lead to a scam website that asks for your details, such as your name, email address, home address and bank information, in order to receive a ‘free gift’ for Father’s Day.
In some instances, the message will have been sent to you by one of your contacts on WhatsApp. If you receive a message like this, you should delete it.
Social media competitions
Fraudsters often use posts and sponsored adverts to promote dodgy schemes. These scams involve advertising false offers to win gifts in time for Father’s Day.
They typically include links to malicious websites, which are usually found in the post itself or in a comment under the post.
The websites will continue to peddle the false information behind the scam. They will usually ask for your personal information and financial details in order to send you the non-existent Father’s Day gift.
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Survey emails
Scam emails that ask you to complete a short survey in exchange for a free item may seem harmless, but they can have serious consequences.
In the run-up to Father’s Day, scammers may use this opportunity to gather lots of insights about you in exchange for a non-existent 'gift'.
These emails typically purport to be from big brands and include a dodgy link. Once you click it, you’ll be asked various questions about your experience shopping at the retailer – but this is a guise to make the scam appear legitimate.
You’ll then be asked for your personal and financial information.
How to report scams
On social media, the usual way to report posts is by selecting the three dots in the top-right corner of the post and pressing 'report.'
To report scam emails, forward them to report@phishing.gov.uk. Report malicious websites to the National Cyber Security Centre.
You can report a WhatsApp message by selecting it in your conversation and tapping ‘report’.
To report the sender on WhatsApp, open the chat, tap the sender's contact details and select 'block and report'.
If you lose any money to a scam, call your bank immediately using the number on the back of your bank card. Also report it to Action Fraud, or call the police on 101 if you’re in Scotland.
