Alert: Don’t Lose Your 12,739 Points! How Text Scams Trick You With Bogus Rewards

Imagine receiving a text that brings seemingly good news: your cell service provider has a loyalty program, and you’ve accumulated nearly 13,000 points.

This is the first you’re hearing of such a program, but considering many carriers offer similar incentives, you think maybe you’ve just overlooked it. Upon following the provided link, you land on a page adorned with your provider’s logo, offering you the chance to redeem your points for items like a new massage chair or a premium vacuum. The only requirement is that you pay for shipping.

However, this enticing offer is a facade. The messages, the rewards site, and the luxurious prizes are all elements of a scam designed to steal your banking information for fraudulent use.

Lately, counterfeit texts purporting to be from major networks like EE and Vodafone have been circulating, falsely claiming that recipients can claim prizes from non-existent rewards programs.

An EE spokesperson revealed that the company became aware of the scam two months ago, with over a quarter of a million people reporting these fraudulent messages. EE confirmed it does not run any point-based rewards program.

While Vodafone does offer a legitimate program called VeryMe Rewards, it clarified that it never refers to it as the “Vodafone Rewards Club,” which is the name used in some of the scam messages.

EE also noted that these messages are sent using RCS technology, which is a more sophisticated system than traditional SMS, making these messages harder to block. The company is collaborating with tech giants like Apple and Google to address this issue.

Vodafone pointed out that most of its customers on iPhones are not receiving these messages since RCS is not activated by the carrier on Apple devices. However, users on other networks might still be susceptible.

Appearance of the Scam

The text message presents itself as a reminder that you have accumulated points, which must be used immediately or they will expire.

One such message reads: “This message serves as an advance notice regarding your Vodafone Reward Points. You currently hold 12,739, of which 12,000 points are scheduled to expire in 3 days in line with the 2026 programme.”

Another message, supposedly from EE, states: “Important Reminder about your reward points. You currently have 12,739 Reward Points available in your account. If no action is taken, these points will expire in 3 days under the terms of the 2026 Reward Points campaign. To explore your reward options and redeem your points, please visit the link below.”

EE users who followed the link reported being directed to a seemingly authentic site where they could exchange points for prizes. They were prompted to input their bank details to cover postage costs, only to find the site refresh to a blank page with a spinning icon, indicating a scam.

The scam employs urgency, claiming that the offer is only available for a few days, a common technique used by fraudsters to hurry people into making hasty decisions.

Steps to Take

If you receive such a message, resist clicking the link.

EE recommends reporting the scam by pressing the “report spam” button on your mobile phone. You can also forward the message to 7726 without incurring any charges.

If you have already provided your personal details, contact your bank immediately and report the incident to Report Fraud (previously known as Action Fraud).