Woolworths shopper issues warning after Everyday Rewards points stolen
A Woolworths shopper has issued a stark warning to fellow customers after her Everyday Rewards points were stolen multiple times by scammers.
The disappointed shopper, Mon Duval, warned Woolies customers to "check your balances" after she noticed somebody had been helping themselves to her Everyday Rewards points.
Ms Duval told Yahoo News Australia that since March 7, scammers had stolen $90 worth of Everyday Rewards points from her account on three separate occasions.
As Ms Duval received no notifications from the Everyday Rewards app, she only became aware of the fraudulent transactions on Sunday when she checked her account.
"I was doing admin otherwise I don't know how long it would have been until I discovered them," she explained.
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Ms Duval warned fellow shoppers to beware of scammers targeting Woolies customers.
"Just wanting to let the people who collect and are saving Woolworths Everyday Rewards know to check your balances," she wrote on a Facebook community page.
Woolies places onus on customers to maintain security
While she waits up to 10 days for her third Everyday Rewards card to arrive in the mail, Ms Duval has changed the passwords on all of her accounts, including her personal email.
"[Woolworths] are placing the onus on myself and saying that it was to do with my passwords," she said.
Woolworths responds: 'No evidence of system breach'
A Woolworths spokesperson told Yahoo News Australia that from time to time the supermarket assists members who appear to have been victim of "unauthorised access" to their Everyday Rewards accounts.
"We've found no evidence to suggest our IT systems have been breached or compromised in any way. This indicates fraudsters have likely obtained these members' login credentials and account details from online scams or other sources," said the spokesperson.
"It's a timely reminder of the importance of having strong unique passwords, updating them regularly and remaining vigilant of scams," the said.
What can Everyday Rewards members do to secure their accounts?
The spokesperson encourage any members who believe there has been "fraudulent activity" on their account to contact Woolworths, so they can "immediately secure their account" and reinstate any points.”
Woolworths has also shared some tips to "further protect" customers and their privacy on its Everyday Rewards page, which include:
Using strong passwords that you have not used for any other accounts and changing them regularly.
Monitoring your accounts and reporting any unusual activity to the relevant organisation.
Remaining vigilant by not clicking on links or opening attachments to emails or messages that you're unsure about.
Not an isolated incident
Dozens of Everyday Rewards members have shared similar stories of points theft on Facebook.
One woman recently noticed that all of her points were taken after she received a notification from the Woolworths app.
"Phoned the call centre straight away and was on hold for over half an hour to speak to someone," she wrote, but she discovered that her points had already been stolen.
"Within 10 minutes they went to Big W and purchased a Nintendo Switch with the rest of the points," she added.
Luckily, the woman was able to retrieve her points from Woolworths.
Another shopper wrote: "Same happened to me, $70 gone and waiting for them to investigate and give my money back. I'm in NSW and they used it at VIC."
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