Millions of people view Costco as a shopping paradise, but that doesn’t make it immune to the scams that plague the rest of the world.
In fact, on its website, Costco lists 30 scams that currently are making the rounds — which is up from 24 in 2023.
The list of nefarious schemes is as follows:
- Fraudulent Cyber Week Survey
- Fraudulent Websites
- Fraudulent Cart Notification
- Fraudulent Autumn Giveaway Email
- Fraudulent Facebook Offer
- Fraudulent Survey Text
- Fraudulent Satisfaction Survey
- Fraudulent Facebook Post
- Fraudulent Survey
- Fraudulent Texts Regarding Loyalty Reward
- Fraudulent Overcharge Reimbursement Texts
- Survey With Exclusive Offers Scam
- Free Television Scam
- Exclusive Giveaway Scam
- Fake Job Interview Confirmation
- Fraudulent Executive Rewards Redemption
- Citi Rewards Direct Deposit Scam
- Redeem Your Gift Card! Scam
- Supermarket Customer Sweepstakes Raffle Draw
- Text Survey Scam
- USPS Scam
- Letter Survey Scam
- Fraudulent Executive Member Reward Email
- Fraudulent Free Samsung TV Email
- Fraudulent Halloween Marketing Survey Email
- Fraudulent Membership Expiration Email
- Fraudulent Loyalty Program Survey
- Fraudulent Three-Question Survey
- Simplehuman Sensor Trash Can Scam
- Fraudulent Calls From “Chinese Costco Member Service”
If you go the Costco website, you can see examples of what the scams look like when they are sent in messages. They can arrive via emails, texts, Facebook posts and even calls.
Costco says if you get any messages centering on the themes listed above, you should not click on any links in the messages. Also, do not provide any personal information to the entity that sent the messages or called.
Unfortunately, scams are nothing new. As Money Talks News founder Stacy Johnson has noted, we all fall victim to some type of rip-off at one time or another:
“These experiences can be costly and, frankly, kind of humiliating. You find yourself wondering why you didn’t see it coming.”
The good news is that simply being aware of your very human tendency to fall for fraud actually can help to protect you from it. Stacy offers some great tips for staying safe in “10 Golden Rules to Avoid Getting Scammed.”
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