$1000 Walmart Gift Card Scam “Virus” – Remove It (Update May 2020)

by Ventsislav Krastev | May 4, 2020 | 0 Comments adware, scam

1000 Walmart Gift Card $1000 Walmart Gift Card Scam Summary Walmart 1000 Gift Card Remove $1000 Walmart Gift Card Scam PUP you’re Your PC

This article aims to explain to you what is the $1000 Walmart Gift Card scam and how you can remove the adware, that is causing these scamming messages to appear on your computer.

1000 Walmart Gift Card

A new adware has been detected rather similar to the previously detected $1000 Amazon Gift Card scam. The adware aims to display different offers that claim the user is a winner and has received a 1000 Walmart Gift Card voucher, provided by Walmart.

In reality hover the domains that host the web page are actually not the official Walmart domains and they may aim to obtain different financial and personal information from you by getting you to fill out forms.

If you see pop-ups and other forms of ads on your computer that may advertise you the $1000 Walmart Gift Card prize, we strongly suggest that you read this article as it aims to show you how you can remove the nasty piece of software causing those ads to appear on your PC.

As of March 2020, users are still complaining about stumbling upon this Walmart scam. There are even cases when users are receiving associated phone calls or text messages claiming to be from Walmart employees.

$1000 Walmart Gift Card Scam Summary

Name	$1000 Walmart Gift Card Scam
Type	Adware/PUP
Short Description	1000 Walmart Gift Card is a scam introduced by an unwanted program on your computer and it aims to get you to enter your personal details or financial credentials.
Symptoms	You see ads on your web browser, like redirects and pop-ups which claim you are a winner of a $1000 Walmart Gift Card but to claim your prize you must enter your information.
Distribution Method	Via adware programs or other PUPs (Potentially Unwanted Programs).
Detection Tool	See If Your System Has Been Affected by malware Download Malware Removal Tool
User Experience	Join Our Forum to Discuss $1000 Walmart Gift Card Scam.

$1000 Walmart Gift Card Scam – Legit or Not?

Programs, like the one that is introducing pop-ups, advertising the $1000 Walmart Gift Card scam often aim to slither onto computers while remaining unnoticed. These types of software’s primary purpose is to get users to download them or add them as a “free offer” while they are installing another program they downloaded from the web. This is called bundling and unwanted programs, like the adware, causing the $1000 Walmart Gift Card scam to often be presented as a helpful third-party programs that aim to improve your web browsing experience.

Furthermore, researchers believe that one program in particular may be causing the Walmart Gift Card scamming messages and this program is thought to be of Adware type which often comes as a seemingly useful Start Menu for Windows computers.

The software causing the $1000 Walmart Gift Card ads is believed by victims who scanned their computer and checked reports to be an adware program that pretends to be an useful program and usually finds it’s way on your computer as a result of software bundling, so while you install a program you may encounter a screen similar to the one underneath in one of the installation steps:

When installed, the $1000 Walmart Gift Card – related adware may obtain the following information from your computer and use it to show you the $1000 Walmart Gift Card scamming pop-ups:

Location.
IP address.
Browsing history.
Computer name and system name.
Sites you visit.
Online clicks.
Online searches.

This data is used by the $1000 Walmart Gift Card adware to display nasty piece of advertising, which according may be shared with third-parties.

Walmart 1000 Gift Card

The scam, which may be introduced by adware usually tends to display the following types of ads that may claim you have won a gift card:

Pop-ups.
Browser redirects.
Online banners.

The $1000 Walmart Gift Card Scam usually includes messages, that resemble a notification that may be originating from the official vendor:

Once the user clicks on the Click Here button, he or she may immediately find themselves redirected to a web page that may be asking for the following information to be typed:

Gender.

Age.

Full name.

Address.

Personal ID number.

Credit card number or IBAN.

City.

Zip Code.

Country.

Telephone.

Email.

Password.

We would strongly suggest against entering any of your personal information on this web page as it may immediately be copied by the cyber-criminals as most forms do not even use encryption and often use cookies and other tracking technologies to obtain your data and aggregate it so that it can later be sold alongside other users’ data in the dark web market.

A recent report from a used affected by $1000 Walmart Gift Card Scam acknowledges that the following message is also associated with this nasty scam:

Dear client Charter Communications, congratulations!

We would like to thank you for your loyalty to Charter Communications, and thus we offer you an exclusive chance to get a Walmart $1000 Gift Card today – [current date]. All you have to do is choose the correct gift box to get started. Good luck!

The appearance of this message could be a result of an unexpected redirect to bogus domains such as today.giftcardslm2.xyz and other similar to this one. In order that users are more prone to provide sensitive information the message is designed to impersonate the American telecommunications company Charter Communications, Inc. Beware of these nasty scam messages and make sure to get rid of them as soon as they appear in your browser.

$1000 Walmart Gift Card Scam – How to Avoid It?

There are various types of scams that promote the Walmart Gift Card and they may be for different sums, ranging from $100 to $1000 and if you see such advertisements pop-up directly on your computer, you should not immediately assume that they are the real thing, even if you are browsing in Amazon while doing so. The bad news here is that the scammers may even use your name by taking information via the adware app, but there is one way to catch them.

A real Walmart Gift Card would normally pop-up in your Walmart account and would not ask you to enter your information, because it is already in your account, hence it will have a unique claiming code which you should enter your profile and would never ask you for your personal and financial data.

This is why, to learn how to detect these scamming pop-ups, you will need to pay attention to the following useful tips:

Do not use Walmart Gift Cards in payments or trades outside Walmart.
Avoid any payment requests from Walmart.
Always check if the website where you enter your information is a scam or a real one.
Always avoid entering your information for a loan or payment.
Always request a guarantee for a payment.

Remove $1000 Walmart Gift Card Scam PUP you’re Your PC

If you want to remove the program that is causing the 1000 Walmart Gift Card scam ads, it is strongly recommended that you follow the removal instructions underneath. They have been created in order to assist you into removing this tech support scam either manually or automatically, based on which methods you feel more comfortable in doing. Naturally, we would suggest what most security experts would advise you in doing and that is to remove the $1000 Walmart Gift Card scam software automatically from your computer with the aid of a particular anti-malware software. Such program is designed to make sure that programs like this become a thing of the past for you, since they remove every piece of code related to the adware, causing these pop-ups to appear.

For all affected Mac users we recommend the help of our specialized guide that reveals – [wplinkpreview url=”https://sensorstechforum.com/how-to-detect-mac-virus-remove/”]How to Detect and Remove a MAC Virus

Ventsislav Krastev

Ventsislav is a cybersecurity expert at SensorsTechForum since 2015. He has been researching, covering, helping victims with the latest malware infections plus testing and reviewing software and the newest tech developments. Having graduated Marketing as well, Ventsislav also has passion for learning new shifts and innovations in cybersecurity that become game changers. After studying Value Chain Management, Network Administration and Computer Administration of System Applications, he found his true calling within the cybersecrurity industry and is a strong believer in the education of every user towards online safety and security.

How to Remove $1000 Walmart Gift Card Scam from Windows.

Step 1: Boot Your PC In Safe Mode to isolate and remove $1000 Walmart Gift Card Scam

OFFER

Manual Removal Usually Takes Time and You Risk Damaging Your Files If Not Careful!

We Recommend To Scan Your PC with SpyHunter

Keep in mind, that SpyHunter’s scanner is only for malware detection. If SpyHunter detects malware on your PC, you will need to purchase SpyHunter's malware removal tool to remove the malware threats. Read our SpyHunter 5 review. Click on the corresponding links to check SpyHunter's EULA, Privacy Policy and Threat Assessment Criteria

1. Hold Windows key() + R

2. The "Run" Window will appear. In it, type "msconfig" and click OK.

3. Go to the "Boot" tab. There select "Safe Boot" and then click "Apply" and "OK".

Tip: Make sure to reverse those changes by unticking Safe Boot after that, because your system will always boot in Safe Boot from now on.

4. When prompted, click on "Restart" to go into Safe Mode.

5. You can recognise Safe Mode by the words written on the corners of your screen.

Step 2: Uninstall $1000 Walmart Gift Card Scam and related software from Windows

Here is a method in few easy steps that should be able to uninstall most programs. No matter if you are using Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista or XP, those steps will get the job done. Dragging the program or its folder to the recycle bin can be a very bad decision. If you do that, bits and pieces of the program are left behind, and that can lead to unstable work of your PC, errors with the file type associations and other unpleasant activities. The proper way to get a program off your computer is to Uninstall it. To do that:

1. Hold the Windows Logo Button and "R" on your keyboard. A Pop-up window will appear.

2. In the field type in "appwiz.cpl" and press ENTER.

3. This will open a window with all the programs installed on the PC. Select the program that you want to remove, and press "Uninstall"

Follow the instructions above and you will successfully uninstall most programs.

Step 3: Clean any registries, created by $1000 Walmart Gift Card Scam on your computer.

The usually targeted registries of Windows machines are the following:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce

You can access them by opening the Windows registry editor and deleting any values, created by $1000 Walmart Gift Card Scam there. This can happen by following the steps underneath:

1. Open the Run Window again, type "regedit" and click OK.

2. When you open it, you can freely navigate to the Run and RunOnce keys, whose locations are shown above.

3. You can remove the value of the virus by right-clicking on it and removing it.

Tip: To find a virus-created value, you can right-click on it and click "Modify" to see which file it is set to run. If this is the virus file location, remove the value.

IMPORTANT!
Before starting "Step 4", please boot back into Normal mode, in case you are currently in Safe Mode.
This will enable you to install and use SpyHunter 5 successfully.

Step 4: Scan for $1000 Walmart Gift Card Scam with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool

1. Click on the "Download" button to proceed to SpyHunter's download page.

Download

Malware Removal Tool

It is recommended to run a scan before purchasing the full version of the software to make sure that the current version of the malware can be detected by SpyHunter. Click on the corresponding links to check SpyHunter's EULA, Privacy Policy and Threat Assessment Criteria.

2. After you have installed SpyHunter, wait for it to update automatically.

3. After the update process has finished, click on the 'Malware/PC Scan' tab. A new window will appear. Click on 'Start Scan'.

4. After SpyHunter has finished scanning your PC for any files of the associated threat and found them, you can try to get them removed automatically and permanently by clicking on the 'Next' button.

If any threats have been removed, it is highly recommended to restart your PC.

Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer Stop Push Pop-ups

Get rid of $1000 Walmart Gift Card Scam from Mac OS X.

Step 1: Uninstall $1000 Walmart Gift Card Scam and remove related files and objects

OFFER

Manual Removal Usually Takes Time and You Risk Damaging Your Files If Not Careful!

We Recommend To Scan Your Mac with SpyHunter for Mac

Keep in mind, that SpyHunter for Mac needs to purchased to remove the malware threats. Click on the corresponding links to check SpyHunter’s EULA and Privacy Policy

1. Hit the ⇧+⌘+U keys to open Utilities. Another way is to click on “Go” and then click “Utilities”, like the image below shows:

2. Find Activity Monitor and double-click it:

3. In the Activity Monitor look for any suspicious processes, belonging or related to $1000 Walmart Gift Card Scam:

Tip: To quit a process completely, choose the “Force Quit” option.

4. Click on the "Go" button again, but this time select Applications. Another way is with the ⇧+⌘+A buttons.

5. In the Applications menu, look for any suspicious app or an app with a name, similar or identical to $1000 Walmart Gift Card Scam. If you find it, right-click on the app and select “Move to Trash”.

6: Select Accounts, after which click on the Login Items preference. Your Mac will then show you a list of items that start automatically when you log in. Look for any suspicious apps identical or similar to $1000 Walmart Gift Card Scam. Check the app you want to stop from running automatically and then select on the Minus (“-“) icon to hide it.

7: Remove any left-over files that might be related to this threat manually by following the sub-steps below:

Go to Finder.
In the search bar type the name of the app that you want to remove.
Above the search bar change the two drop down menus to “System Files” and “Are Included” so that you can see all of the files associated with the application you want to remove. Bear in mind that some of the files may not be related to the app so be very careful which files you delete.
If all of the files are related, hold the ⌘+A buttons to select them and then drive them to “Trash”.

In case you cannot remove $1000 Walmart Gift Card Scam via Step 1 above:

In case you cannot find the virus files and objects in your Applications or other places we have shown above, you can manually look for them in the Libraries of your Mac. But before doing this, please read the disclaimer below:

Disclaimer! If you are about to tamper with Library files on Mac, be sure to know the name of the virus file, because if you delete the wrong file, it may cause irreversible damage to your MacOS. Continue on your own responsibility!

1: Click on "Go" and Then "Go to Folder" as shown underneath:

2: Type in "/Library/LauchAgents/" and click Ok:

3: Delete all of the virus files that have similar or the same name as $1000 Walmart Gift Card Scam. If you believe there is no such file, do not delete anything.

You can repeat the same procedure with the following other Library directories:

→ ~/Library/LaunchAgents
/Library/LaunchDaemons

Tip: ~ is there on purpose, because it leads to more LaunchAgents.

Step 2: Scan for and remove $1000 Walmart Gift Card Scam files from your Mac

When you are facing problems on your Mac as a result of unwanted scripts and programs such as $1000 Walmart Gift Card Scam, the recommended way of eliminating the threat is by using an anti-malware program. SpyHunter for Mac offers advanced security features along with other modules that will improve your Mac’s security and protect it in the future.

Click the button below below to download SpyHunter for Mac and scan for $1000 Walmart Gift Card Scam:

Download

SpyHunter for Mac

Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer Stop Push Pop-ups

Remove $1000 Walmart Gift Card Scam from Google Chrome.

Step 1: Start Google Chrome and open the drop menu

Step 2: Move the cursor over "Tools" and then from the extended menu choose "Extensions"

Step 3: From the opened "Extensions" menu locate the unwanted extension and click on its "Remove" button.

Step 4: After the extension is removed, restart Google Chrome by closing it from the red "X" button at the top right corner and start it again.

Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer Stop Push Pop-ups

Erase $1000 Walmart Gift Card Scam from Mozilla Firefox.

Step 1: Start Mozilla Firefox. Open the menu window

Step 2: Select the "Add-ons" icon from the menu.

Step 3: Select the unwanted extension and click "Remove"

Step 4: After the extension is removed, restart Mozilla Firefox by closing it from the red "X" button at the top right corner and start it again.

Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer Stop Push Pop-ups

Uninstall $1000 Walmart Gift Card Scam from Microsoft Edge.

Step 1: Start Edge browser.

Step 2: Open the drop menu by clicking on the icon at the top right corner.

Step 3: From the drop menu select "Extensions".

Step 4: Choose the suspected malicious extension you want to remove and then click on the gear icon.

Step 5: Remove the malicious extension by scrolling down and then clicking on Uninstall.

Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer Stop Push Pop-ups

Remove $1000 Walmart Gift Card Scam from Safari.

Step 1: Start the Safari app.

Step 2: After hovering your mouse cursor to the top of the screen, click on the Safari text to open its drop down menu.

Step 3: From the menu, click on "Preferences".

Step 4: After that, select the 'Extensions' Tab.

Step 5: Click once on the extension you want to remove.

Step 6: Click 'Uninstall'.

A pop-up window will appear asking for confirmation to uninstall the extension. Select 'Uninstall' again, and the $1000 Walmart Gift Card Scam will be removed.

How to Reset Safari
IMPORTANT: Before resetting Safari make sure you back up all your saved passwords within the browser in case you forget them.

Start Safari and then click on the gear leaver icon.

Click the Reset Safari button and you will reset the browser.

Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer Stop Push Pop-ups

Eliminate $1000 Walmart Gift Card Scam from Internet Explorer.

Step 1: Start Internet Explorer.

Step 2: Click on the gear icon labeled 'Tools' to open the drop menu and select 'Manage Add-ons'

Step 3: In the 'Manage Add-ons' window.

Step 4: Select the extension you want to remove and then click 'Disable'. A pop-up window will appear to inform you that you are about to disable the selected extension, and some more add-ons might be disabled as well. Leave all the boxes checked, and click 'Disable'.

Step 5: After the unwanted extension has been removed, restart Internet Explorer by closing it from the red 'X' button located at the top right corner and start it again.