Asda tells shoppers 'be careful' as it issues warning over £250 voucher offer

Asda shoppers are being warned of a 'voucher' scam on social media. Bots have been sweeping Facebook, promising users of £250 for 'children enrolled in school' and with a 'deadline to apply'.

The posts reportedly link to a dangerous website, which could lead to shoppers falling victim to scammers. Asda has since confirmed it is not offering such a voucher and the posts have been reported to Facebook.

It said customers should 'be careful' and should not click on these types of messages. The supermarket said it is 'working hard' to get the posts removed.

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A spokesperson said: "It has been brought to our attention that there are a number of scam posts on social media advertising Asda vouchers. These un-associated posts have been reported to Facebook and we are working hard to have them removed.

"We encourage all customers to be careful before entering anything online that isn’t connected to an official Asda account or an official Asda website." The bots seem to be targeting local area groups, buying and selling pages and rental advice communities, The Sun reports.

An example of the posts read: "Children Enrolled in School Receive £250.00 from ASDA." The posts then state a 'deadline' date, which appears to be different on each post.

The scam reportedly takes other forms, including a post saying "ASDA £250 payments have started!". A link in the comment section to a possible scam site is included.

Images are also said to be circulating on social media claiming to show a bogus "£250 voucher". Facebook users commented under the spam posts, warning others not to click.

Asda and Facebook do not know who is behind posts. A spokesperson for Meta, who own Facebook, said: "We don’t want anyone to fall victim to fraud which is why our platforms have systems in place to help us detect and enforce against scams.

"And we run consumer awareness campaigns on how to spot fraudulent behaviour."