Police Warn Of Online Staycation Scam
The staycation giveaway by the MarketPlace and Hamilton Princess has “been copied by unknown fraudsters, who are attempting to lure unsuspecting individuals into providing personal information by misleading them into believing that they are prize winners.”
A police spokesperson said, “The Bermuda Police Service [BPS] has been informed that a staycation giveaway promotion launched by the Market Place Supermarket in conjunction with Hamilton Princess on their social media sites Facebook and Instagram, has subsequently been copied by unknown fraudsters, who are attempting to lure unsuspecting individuals into providing personal information by misleading them into believing that they are prize winners.”
Acting Detective Chief Inspector, Derricka Burns, of the Specialist Investigations unit said: “The fraudsters are using email addresses which are very similar to that of The Market Place – www.marketplace.bm – but with one or two letters being different or, an underscore or extra dot being added. Examples currently being used by the fraudsters are:
- themarketplaceltd_official
- themarketplace.official
- themarketplacelts.blogspot.com
“The fraudulent promotions contain links which will potentially infect your device with malware or, attempt to obtain sensitive information or money from you. Do not click on them.
“To assist in identifying fraudulent promotions please look out for:
- Poor Spelling
- Incorrect or inconsistent grammar
- Unusual sentence structure or turns of phrase
- Sometimes addresses will be spoofed by changing one or two letters in either the local part [before the @ symbol], or domain name.
- The URL of a webpage: similar to email addresses, the spelling can be slightly changed to trick a visitor not looking closely.
“Again, do not click on unfamiliar links or download unfamiliar/unexpected attachments or the following fake accounts:”
- themarketplaceltd_official
- themarketplace.official
- themarketplacelts.blogspot.com”
To take part in the real staycation giveaway — which offers a two-night stay at the Hamilton Princess, dinner, wine and more — please visit here on the real MarketPlace Facebook page.
