In short
Most common fake: Text saying you won a Walmart gift card.
Safest check: Remember you cannot win a contest you did not enter, and Walmart does not text winners.
Where to report it: Send fake Walmart emails as an attachment (not forwarded or pasted) to OnlineAbuse@walmart.com.
What Walmart says
Walmart says it does not tell contest winners about prizes by text, and it does not send texts about product recalls, which it shares on official websites and by direct email instead. It also says it will never mail you a check to deposit and ask you to keep part of it as payment. Source: Walmart
Common fake Walmart messages
These are the 5 shapes a fake Walmart message usually takes. They are listed in the order we see them most often, and none of them is something Walmart itself does.
- Text saying you won a Walmart gift card
- Fake product recall notice with a link
- Official looking email asking for personal or financial details
- Mystery shopper job that sends you a check to deposit
- Request to pay someone with Walmart gift cards
Walmart's real web addresses
Genuine Walmart links and emails use these domains. Look at the part just before the first single slash: walmart.com is real, but walmart-support-center.com or walmart.com.account-check.top are not.
- walmart.com
Scammers can also hide a fake link behind real-looking text. Learn how to read a web address.
How to check a Walmart message safely
- Remember you cannot win a contest you did not enter, and Walmart does not text winners
- Check recalls on official websites rather than through a text link
- Sign in to walmart.com or the Walmart app yourself to check orders
- Never pay anyone with gift cards because they asked you to
How to report a fake Walmart message
- Send fake Walmart emails as an attachment (not forwarded or pasted) to OnlineAbuse@walmart.com. Official details on corporate.walmart.com
- Call Walmart gift card fraud on (888) 537-5503 if you were asked to pay with gift cards. Official details on corporate.walmart.com
- Report the scam to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Official details on reportfraud.ftc.gov
Also report it to the official fraud service in your country. See the worldwide list.
If you clicked, paid or shared details
Act quickly. It makes a difference.
- If you entered card or bank details, call your bank now using the number on your card, and ask them to block the card.
- If you entered a password, change it at walmart.com, typed into your browser yourself, and turn on two-step verification. Do not use any link from the message.
- Expect follow-up calls or messages pretending to help, sometimes claiming to be from Walmart security. Never share one-time codes and never move money to a "safe account".
- Send fake Walmart emails as an attachment (not forwarded or pasted) to OnlineAbuse@walmart.com, then delete the message.
More help: Prize, lottery and giveaway scams and what to do after a scam.
How to protect yourself next time
Take your details off data broker sites
Scammers buy phone numbers, home addresses and family details from people-search and data broker sites. The less of that is public, the fewer and less convincing the scam messages you get.
Free: You can ask each site to delete your details yourself. In the EU and the UK, data protection law gives you that right.
- Incogni Partner link Sends removal requests to data brokers for you, and keeps sending them.
Keep security software with web protection on your devices
It blocks many known scam and malware websites and warns about dangerous apps. That matters most if you installed an app or "support" tool someone asked you to.
Free: Keep your phone and browser updated, and leave Google Play Protect or Microsoft Defender switched on. Both are free.
- Bitdefender Partner link Security suite for phone and computer with web and scam protection.
Compare the tools that help, and what each costs
Links marked Partner link may earn us a commission, at no cost to you. It never changes our advice, and the free option always comes first. Affiliate disclosure.
Questions people ask
Does Walmart send messages asking for payment or personal details?
Walmart says it does not tell contest winners about prizes by text, and it does not send texts about product recalls, which it shares on official websites and by direct email instead. It also says it will never mail you a check to deposit and ask you to keep part of it as payment.
How can I check if a Walmart message is real?
Remember you cannot win a contest you did not enter, and Walmart does not text winners. Check recalls on official websites rather than through a text link. Sign in to walmart.com or the Walmart app yourself to check orders. Never pay anyone with gift cards because they asked you to.
How do I report a fake Walmart message?
Send fake Walmart emails as an attachment (not forwarded or pasted) to OnlineAbuse@walmart.com. Call Walmart gift card fraud on (888) 537-5503 if you were asked to pay with gift cards. Report the scam to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
I clicked a link in a fake Walmart message but did not enter anything. Am I at risk?
Opening a link is far less serious than filling one in. Close it, and if you need your account, reach it by typing walmart.com yourself. Clicking does tell the sender your number is live, so expect more messages for a while: send fake walmart emails as an attachment (not forwarded or pasted) to onlineabuse@walmart.com.
Have you had this one?
Tell other people what the message said and how it reached you. It helps someone recognise it before they tap.
No stories yet. Yours could be the one that warns someone.
Official sources and further reading
We check our pages against official advice from the organisations themselves and from government agencies.
- Fraud Alerts (Walmart)
- Don't Fall for It: Protecting Yourself from Online Scams (Walmart)
- How To Recognize and Avoid Phishing Scams (Federal Trade Commission)