Supermarket chain DMart has become a new tool for online pranksters. A link is being forwarded via WhatsApp stating the supermarket giving out a free shopping voucher worth Rs. 2500. The supermarket chain is said to give out these vouchers on account of their 17th anniversary. The message is fake and it will be best if you do not click on the link and nor even share it with others as it asks you to. The message that has been doing the rounds reads, "D-Mart is giving FREE INR2500 shopping voucher 🎁 to celebrate it's 17th anniversary, click here to get yours: http://www.dmartındia.com/voucher Enjoy." Dmart has made it clear on their website that the message is a fake one.
If you go and check on DMart's website they have clearly mentioned the message is a hoax. The message by DMart reads, "There are certain miscreants forwarding link to a fake website which purportedly is giving out DMart Shopping voucher. Please note that we at DMart have not issued any such vouchers. Please do not fall prey to such offers." If you click on the link, it asks you to forward the message to 20 other users and you also have to enter your address details. It says you will receive your DMart voucher in a day or two by mail. It is best you ignore this message. You cannot access the stated link through desktop and it opens only through your phone. On trying to open it on your desktop, it will flash an error message, indicating it is a fake.
If you look at the link closely you can observe how the letter I from India, is actually a special character. The character in the domain is Latin small letter dotless (ı) which resemble i to fool the users. The original link for DMart is http://www.dmartindia.com with the letter i. Miscreants are trying to make money by issuing the fake link and earning on clicks.
Today also happens to be the day when Avenue Supermarkets, the owner of D-Mart chain of outlets, surpassed a market capitalisation of Rs 1 lakh crore. The stock opened at Rs 1,593.05 and scaled a new record at Rs 1,619.95 so far. Since we constantly use WhatsApp such messages are easier to come by and forward but we urge you not to fall prey to it. If you come across the DMart message, do let the sender also know it is a fake one.
Fact check
D-Mart is giving FREE INR 2500 shopping voucher 🎁 to celebrate it's 17th anniversary.
The news is fake as Dmart has made it clear on their website that the message is a fake one.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 11, 2018 07:11 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).