Watch out for your kitty if you have an Auchan Waaoh loyalty card! Hackers steal customer credentials to empty their account. Here’s what to do to protect yourself from this scam, or to take action if you fall victim to it.
To encourage their customers to come back regularly, most large retailers offer them loyalty programs and cards allowing them to accumulate points entitling them to reductions on their purchases, or even to equivalents in euros which serve as jackpots. Amounts that are often modest, but which, accumulated over several months, can represent quite large sums, which is not negligible in times of inflation. This is the case of Auchan, which offers its customers its Waaoh card. But its holders better exercise caution at this time! For several months, card thefts have been increasing, as reported The voice of the North. Hackers buy credentials from Dark Web forums, probably fraudulently recovered by phishing. Thanks to them, they can then pay for their races by emptying the kitty of their victims, with sometimes large sums…
Auchan Waaoh card: identifiers sold on the Dark Web
Many customers have unfortunately been confronted with scams of this kind and testify on different forums, like Dealabs. This is the case of Claire, who explains that “en full confinement, I was told that I had used 150 € in Paris. I had to go and file a complaint to get my kitty back”. La Voix du Nord also reports the misadventure of Cassandra, who was robbed “the equivalent of a whole year’s kitty destined for the Christmas meal”. Taken together, these scams make it possible to steal large sums. Thus, a scammer was recently judged for having paid about fifteen purchases for a total amount estimated between 3,700 and 4,700 €!
As a precaution, it is better to regularly check the balance of your kitty on the Auchan website or application. In the event of an anomaly, do not hesitate to contact the brand, even if it means having your card blocked:
- by phone on 03 59 30 59 300
- by email to [email protected]
- on social networks: Facebook or Twitter
- by mail to Service Clients Groupe Auchan CS 10636 59656 Villeneuve-d’Ascq Cedex.
In any case, it is better to take some measures to protect yourself. First, you must avoid sharing your identifiers with third parties. Then, it is better to change your password to adopt a complex one (without personal information, with upper and lower case letters, numbers and special characters) and above all unique. Finally, remember that it is important not to click on links or attachments sent in e-mails or SMS, even if it seems to come from Auchan.
The sign indicates in the general conditions of use of the map Waooh that “if you are the victim of the loss or theft of your card, Auchan cannot be held responsible for the fraudulent use of the amount credited to your ‘Waooh’ card and no refund request will be admissible by the store”. However, some victims have managed to get a new card with the stolen money credited to it, but not all of them – it seems to be on a case-by-case basis. “In order for the refund to be issued, we need to have proof that it is a fraud, like showing that the Auchan store where the card was used is far from the place of work where you were that day”, said Auchan customer service to La Voix du Nord. Note that the Waaoh card is not the only one to be targeted by pirates. This is also the case for those of other brands, such as Carrefour, Leclerc or Casino. Be careful not to leave too much money on it!