The McDonald’s scam (7 scams to watch out for)
McDonald’s is one of the largest and most recognizable brands in the world, with golden arches and delicious food.
However, because of this success, McDonald’s has been the focus of many scams over the years and continues to this day. Here are eight McDonald’s scams to watch out for, and how to protect yourself from some of them!
The McDonald’s Scam in 2022
1. McDonald’s Paid Survey Scam
The Western Australian government has issued a statement warning residents of an email scam that appears to be from McDonald’s.
In the emails, scammers promise cash for completing customer surveys.
The survey took a sinister turn after completing seven “help McDonald’s improve food and service quality” questions.
The survey ostensibly asks for customers’ credit card information so that direct payments can be made.
However, this is so scammers can steal your money, which happened to a man who lost $1,300.
If you live in Australia – or anywhere in the world – and receive an email like this, your best course of action is to delete it.
If you happen to click the link and enter the survey, please do not enter your credit card information.
McDonald’s will never ask anyone for their credit card information unless it’s to set up payment in their app.
2. McDonald’s Canada app scam
Speaking of the McDonald’s app, the company warned Canadians in 2019 not to use their app because scammers had broken into multiple accounts.
One app user found that scammers made meals worth about $2,000 from their dime.
Plus, McDonald’s doesn’t refund money; instead, they insist customers who have been scammed take over with their bank.
A McDonald’s representative said, “We do take appropriate steps to protect the security of personal information.”
She then recommends using a stronger password and changing it immediately if customers notice any exorbitant fees or orders.
3. McDonald’s UAE fake offer scam
Elsewhere in the world, UAE officials and McDonald’s UAE have warned customers of fake offers on behalf of the brand in 2021.
McDonald’s UAE said on their Twitter account that they “encourage customers not to share information or click on any suspicious links or fraudulent offer posts.”
For those of us in the US, please note the website URL – is it McDonalds.com? Or McDonalds.com? Or McDonaldsUSA.com?
These are the little details you have to pay attention to when dealing with scammers and their fake websites.
4. McDonald’s Email ‘Exclusive Reward’ Scam
Snopes reported that it reviewed a McDonald’s scam in February 2022, which came in the form of an email promising an exclusive reward (or gift).
The email itself was poorly structured, full of spelling and grammatical errors, and the @rheerrgi.org extension of the email address had nothing to do with McDonald’s.
By clicking on a link, customers are taken to a Russian survey site, complete with a timer to create a sense of urgency.
Any email from McDonald’s will end with @McDonalds.com, so this is your first clue that the message is fake.
Then there’s the horrible content of emails, with random punctuation (or lack thereof) and random capitalization.
Finally, the “Unsubscribe Here” address has been linked to other scams and should not be written to by anyone under any circumstances.
McDonald’s doesn’t operate that way at all, instead giving out “rewards” or monetary gifts.
In fact, McDonald’s has a rewards program that runs entirely within the app and gives customers points they can redeem for free food.
5. McDonald’s Monopoly game scam
If you watched the McMillions documentary series on HBO a few years ago, you’d know the gist of the next scam I’m going to cover.
Still, this isn’t a case of thieves tricking McDonald’s customers. Instead, it’s a case of thieves swindling McDonald’s out of millions of dollars through the Monopoly game.
Jerome “Uncle Jerry” Jacobson is in charge of all the jackpot winners, and they figured out a way to get someone to pay him in exchange for the jackpot.
The program eventually expanded to include the Italian mafia and drug dealers, and the operation has grown from strength to strength for six years.
However, that all ended in 2001 when the FBI, which had been investigating for the past year, stepped in and arrested 51 co-conspirators.
6. The fake McDonald’s CEO scam
Another scam, run by outsiders, involved a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania and a caller pretending to be the company’s CEO.
They instructed the McDonald’s manager to take $4,000 in cash from the store and go to a local convenience store to buy a gift card.
The manager did, but when the caller instructed them to read the card number and PIN over the phone, they thought about it and reported the scam.
State Police received a call instructing the convenience store to drop the charges and investigate the crime.
This is a very common scam, sometimes carried out as an email from a company boss or executive.
7. Scam McDonald’s gift cards via WhatsApp
Scammers send WhatsApp messages offering gift cards for user loyalty, but of course it’s all fake.
These messages may contain a link that, when clicked, takes users to a page that asks them to provide sensitive personal information.
As Scam-Detector.com puts it, McDonald’s and other major brands will never offer freebies to customers via messaging apps.
All “freebies” are part of their rewards system, which runs through the McDonald’s app, as a result of purchases.
To learn more, you can also read our posts on McDonald’s statistics and facts, McDonald’s refund policy, and where to buy McDonald’s gift cards.
in conclusion
McDonald’s is a wildly popular company with millions of customers around the world, so it’s no surprise that scammers try to impersonate them.
Whether it’s an email promising a reward or monetary gift, or a text message reminding customers to use a free gift card, don’t click on a link in the message or provide any financial information.
