In February 2022, we reviewed a scam email that used the McDonald's name and said that recipients had "been selected" to receive an "exclusive reward" or "gift." It eventually led to a survey scam that promised a $100 McDonald's gift card or gift certificate.
The email was put together very poorly and without much care for grammar. It read as follows:
?Y0u.HaaVe.Been.Selected.To..Participate-?.
From: .UHFZXBS.MMRIAIU@rheerrgi.org *McDonalds* via meragaf.shop
mcdonalds
Hello
Congratulations! You have been selected to get an exclusive reward !
Your Name Came Up For a mcdonalds Gift
hurry up ! Your Reward is Ready
Your account information :
Customer::
Email:
Reward: .............
Claim Reward Now
mcdonalds TeamUnsubscribe Here
616 Corporate Way Ste.2-9092
Valley Cottage, NY 10989
This was not a legitimate offer from McDonald's. .UHFZXBS.MMRIAIU@rheerrgi.org is not an official McDonald's email address, nor is meragaf.shop associated with the fast-food chain.
The mailing address listed was: "616 Corporate Way Ste.2-9092, Valley Cottage, NY 10989." We found this same address being mentioned by other users online in association with past scams.
The scam email led to a website that redirected several times, ending up on a Russian survey website named souldatabase.ru. The page read:
Dear McDonald's Customer,
Congratulations!
Complete the short survey about McDonald's to select your exclusive offer of up to $100.00 cash value.This special is available until February 14, 2022
TIME REMAINING: 5:53
The deadline and timer were both fake and were only there to create a sense of urgency.
We previously reported on similar scams that mentioned this same survey website for fake offers about Lowe's and UPS.
In sum, we recommend that readers delete any emails that claim to be from McDonald's or other companies that promise an "exclusive reward" or "gift." If they don't come from a reliable email address that ends in @mcdonalds.com, for example, then they are most likely going to be scams.
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