Watch out for this B&Q Father’s Day competition Scam

Scammers are sending fake Father’s Day competitions for the popular DIY chain via WhatsApp.

In time for Father’s Day, scammers are impersonating B&Q to offer you the opportunity to participate in a fraudulent contest.

Scammers stay on top of seasonal events so that they can try to more convincingly scam you.

We’ve received several reports from people who have received suspicious WhatsApp messages in the run-up to Father’s Day, offering you the chance to win a Weber BBQ as a present.

Find out how to spot, report and avoid this scam.

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B&Q Father’s Day WhatsApp Scam

The text reads B&Q Father’s Day Contest 2022 and goes on to advertise 5,000 free gas barbeques available to be won by entering a competition by clicking on the link below.

The message uses a catalogue-style photograph of the BBQ as well as B&Q branding to convince you it’s real.

 The tell-tale signs of a scam

The WhatsApp message is sent via a mobile number, which brands will never contact you on and the message links to a Russian website with no connection to B&Q, a British company.

This link will either phish for your bank details or put you in danger of having malware downloaded onto your device.

On 8 June, B&Q put out a statement on Facebook stating: 

'We’re aware of a fake message circulating via Whatsapp using B&Q branding in a Father’s Day competition.

'If you receive a suspicious WhatsApp message, which could be from a known or unknown contact, about a B&Q Father’s Day Contest 2022 offering the chance to win a Weber BBQ, we strongly recommend that you delete the message, do not click on any links and do not share with your contacts.

'We would never ask any of our customers to provide their full home address in order to enter a competition. If you believe you have been the victim of this scam, please consider reporting it to Action Fraud.'

It posted a similar message on Twitter.

Reporting scam texts

If you receive a random text or email from a brand about a specific deal or competition, always check the brand’s website to see if things add up.

Report dodgy texts like this B&Q one to 7726 as well as to the company the text was claiming to be from before blocking and deleting the text and understand more on how to spot a text message scam by reading our guide.