As a Costco member, you’re used to receiving emails with exclusive discounts, deals, and offers. However, you should remain vigilant when it comes to recognizing and identifying scams that use convincing but bogus emails, texts, and other fraudulent communications. Let’s take a closer look at what to be wary of and learn all about the suspicious email that Costco members should delete immediately.
What Is This Suspicious Email from Costco?
This particular scam involves emails sent from hackers claiming to be from Costco and purporting to offer discounts in the form of gift cards. These emails may look and sound real since they’ll often include the Costco logo, appear to be from a legitimate Costco email address, and even contain links that appear to lead to the Costco website. It’s imperative that you never click on these types of emails as they’re likely to lead to malicious sites and/or may contain malware.
How to Identify a Suspicious Email
In order to avoid falling victim to this scam and other phishing-type emails, there are some key signs that you should always be aware of when examining emails you receive from both Costco and other businesses.
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Pop-up Windows: When a pop-up window appears demanding that you provide personal information, such as your credit card or billing information, don’t do it. These are sure signs of a phishing attempt.
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Unusual Content: Typically, emails sent by companies such as Costco will include formal language and requests, but if the email is littered with poor grammar, incorrect spelling, and/or other inconsistencies, it’s likely a scam.
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Unfamiliar Senders: If the sender’s email address doesn’t match the company that the email appears to be from, there’s a good chance the email is not legitimate.
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Suspicious Links: If you hover your cursor over a link included with the email and you notice that the URL doesn’t match the company’s website, it’s likely malicious.
What Should You Do If You Receive This Suspicious Email from Costco?
If you mistakenly open the email and/or respond to it, don’t panic. Instead, take the following steps:
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Delete the email immediately. Don’t forward it or click any of the links it contains.
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Contact Costco directly. If you have any doubts about the legitimacy of the email, reach out to the company’s customer support team directly to verify the source of the message.
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Contact your bank. If you provided any banking information — such as your credit/debit card number — to the scammers, reach out to your bank right away to let them know about the situation.
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Change your passwords. If you’ve provided the scammers with any login information related to online accounts or services, visit the related websites and change your passwords.
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Monitor your accounts. Log in to the online accounts that could have been involved — such as your Costco account — and look for any suspicious activity.
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File a complaint. You should also report the suspicious email and any potential losses to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and your local police department.
Knowing how to recognize scams sent in the form of email is the first line of defense against falling victim to them. If you receive an email from Costco offering discounts in the form of gift cards, be suspicious and delete immediately. When in doubt, follow the simple steps listed above to protect your personal information and remain safe.
