The Better Business Bureau in Omaha says thousands of consumers have received text messages promising a free gift card.
BBB spokesman Jim Hegarty says the offer is for a $1-thousand gift card to Target. He says the text message includes a website where you can enter a code to claim gift card.
He says the link took the person to numerous pages asking for personal information in order to continue. "At the beginning, in the fine print, it states that a consumer must fill out everything on each page in order to receive the gift card, and the offer "...is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by any of the listed products or retailers".
Hegarty says they cannot verify that anyone has ever received a free gift card from these offers. He says this is a phishing scheme and people should not respond to the offer.
"Consumers responding to these kinds of deals may unknowingly be registering for products that they would have to pay for. Also, you are giving out personal information to an unknown party that could sell it to others or use it to steal your identity," Hegarty says
BBB advises people to be extremely cautious when responding to any unsolicited text messages.
