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.
Related: Pokki Start Menu Adware – How to Remove It
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 –
How to Detect and Remove a MAC Virus
Ventsislav Krastev
Ventsislav has been covering the latest malware, software and newest tech developments at SensorsTechForum for 3 years now. He started out as a network administrator. Having graduated Marketing as well, Ventsislav also has passion for discovery of new shifts and innovations in cybersecurity that become game changers. After studying Value Chain Management and then Network Administration, he found his passion within cybersecrurity and is a strong believer in basic education of every user towards online safety.
Follow Me:
- Guide 1: How to Remove $1000 Walmart Gift Card Scam from Windows.
- Guide 2: Get rid of $1000 Walmart Gift Card Scam from Mac OS X.
- Guide 3: Remove $1000 Walmart Gift Card Scam from Google Chrome.
- Guide 4: Erase $1000 Walmart Gift Card Scam from Mozilla Firefox.
- Guide 5: Uninstall $1000 Walmart Gift Card Scam from Microsoft Edge.
- Guide 6: Remove $1000 Walmart Gift Card Scam from Safari.
- Guide 7: Eliminate $1000 Walmart Gift Card Scam from Internet Explorer.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
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
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:
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:
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.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.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
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
1. Hit the ⇧+⌘+U keys to open Utilities. Another way is to click on “Go” and then click “Utilities”, like the image below shows:
- 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:
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 malware from your Mac
When you are facing problems on your Mac as a result of unwanted scripts, programs and malware, the recommended way of eliminating the threat is by using an anti-malware program. Combo Cleaner offers advanced security features along with other modules that will improve your Mac’s security and protect it in the future.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
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
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
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
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.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
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.
