Target Scam!

A while ago, I came across a post on social media claiming that Target was giving away free $100 gift cards. The ad looked completely real. It had the official logo, matching colors, and even a believable website link. It said all I had to do was complete a short survey and share the post to unlock my reward. So I decided to give it a try. After entering my name, email, and phone number, I started getting suspicious when no confirmation or gift card ever arrived. Within a few days, I began receiving spam emails and strange phone calls, which made it clear I had been scammed. The goal of the hoax was to collect people’s personal information and misuse it for profit. Since then, I’ve learned to be much more cautious online and to question anything that seems too good to be true.

Looking back, there were a few ways I could’ve figured out that the Target gift card post was fake. First, I could have checked the website link more carefully. Real company promotions usually come from official domains like “target.com,” not something suspicious like “target-giftcards.co.” I also could have searched online to see if Target had posted anything about the giveaway on their verified social media pages or website. Another red flag was that the post asked for personal information like my phone number and email, which legitimate giveaways rarely do. It’s also smart to look for poor grammar, odd wording, or anything that feels rushed or “too good to be true.” Using a quick Google search or a fact-checking site can help confirm whether something is real before clicking any links. Now, I always take a few extra seconds to verify things before trusting or sharing them online.