Warning over WhatsApp Guinness scam that offers 'fridge full of beer'

Warning over WhatsApp Guinness scam that asks people for personal details in order to win ‘fridge full of beer’ on Father’s Day

• EXCLUSIVE – Diageo has confirmed that it is not behind the Guinness ‘contest’ 

WhatsApp users were today warned about a scam that asks people for their personal details in order to win a ‘fridge full of Guinness’ for Father’s Day. 

The ‘competition’, which has already been debunked by the company, appears with the caption ‘Uncover the hidden prize in Guinness Father’s Day giveaway’ next to a photo of a fridge. 

Anyone who clicks on the link is asked to fill in a quiz and then choose from a number of boxes to find the ‘golden ticket’. 

At this point they are told they have won and to share the link with 20 friends or five WhatsApp groups in order to claim the prize. 

Guinness maker Diageo today confirmed to MailOnline that it was not behind the promotion, which has spread rapidly throughout the UK. 

The ‘competition’, which has already been debunked by the company, appears with the caption ‘Uncover the hidden prize in Guinness Father’s Day giveaway’ 

Anyone who clicks on the link is asked to fill in a quiz and then choose from a number of boxes to find the ‘golden ticket’

‘This is not a Guinness competition and appears to be a scam,’ a spokesman said. 

‘We would advise anyone who has received this message to not open the link and delete it immediately.’

One WhatsApp user in London who was tricked by the scam said he ‘felt guilty’ about putting his friends at risk of having their details stolen by forwarding the link on to them. 

He said: ‘I got sent the link this morning before going on it and seeing it was a quiz. I always like a quiz – especially about Guinness – so I filled it in. 

‘I then had three goes to click on the boxes to find the golden ticket. After I clicked on the second it said I had won the prize and I had to share the link with five groups to claim it. 

‘At that point I was wondering if I even wanted the fridge because I don’t have space for one, but despite that I still shared it on. 

‘Then when I went back onto the website it said I had only done 30 per cent of what I had to do. I thought that was weird so I started to question it a bit more – particularly as it was asking my address.’

Guinness maker Diageo today confirmed to MailOnline that it was not behind the promotion, which has spread rapidly throughout the UK

Sharing his embarrassment at falling victim to scammers, the financial services worker added: ‘I felt like a grandparent by being duped by this. And I felt guilty at sending it on to my friends who could have also been tricked.’

A friend who he sent the link on to said: ‘I was sent the link by a friend so assumed it was safe. Now we both realise it was a scam and are both worried about what our details may be used for.’  

The Guinness scam is strikingly similar to a similar fake contest last year offering the chance to ‘win’ cans of Heineken. 

Heineken Beer Father’s Day Contest 2022 was quickly outed as a scam by the Dutch beer giant. 

Cybercriminals have long used messaging services like WhatsApp to lure in victims.

In March, Action Fraud received more than 60 reports about a scam that steals access to a user’s account.

The fraud begins when a criminal gets access to another WhatsApp account which has the target listed as a contact.

The Guinness scam is strikingly similar to a similar fake contest last year offering the chance to ‘win’ cans of Heineken 

The fraudster, posing as a friend or someone that’s a member of a group the victim is in, will then send a seemingly normal message to try and start a conversation.

As the criminal tries to log in to the target’s account, they will receive a text message from WhatsApp with a six-digit code. 

The criminal will claim that they sent the code by accident and ask the victim to help them by sending it to them.

Once they have the code, they can login into the WhatsApp account and lock the victim out.

MailOnline has contacted WhatsApp owner Meta for comment.  

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