An unsolicited email not from an address ending in @samsclub.com promises a Sam’s Club gift card for completing a survey.
In May 2023, we investigated a “Sam’s Club Shopper Survey” email scam that promised a gift card or “promotional reward” worth $50 or $90, all for answering a short investigation. It was not a legitimate gift or promotion from Sam’s Club.
All of the online users who followed the link in the email eventually discovered that it had little to do with Sam’s Club, and a lot to do with the scammers who were misleading people to ‘they get charged monthly fees for weird subscriptions.
The scam starts with the email about Sam’s Club. Its subject line said “Confirmation Required”. The post claimed that a “Sam’s Club Shopper Survey” would provide a $50 gift card simply for taking a “30-second survey.”
![A Sam's Club Shopper survey was nothing but a survey scam for a gift card or reward that had hidden subscription fees.]()
We recommend caution with offers like these.
The message came from an email address ending in @sendinblue.com and was routed through sightbanner.com. A real message from Sam’s Club would come from an email address ending in @samsclub.com.
The link in the email led to multiple redirects and ended up at herbonlinereward.com. After a short investigation, the website presented several options to purchase various products “for free”, supposedly with only shipping and handling charges to pay. None of these items had anything to do with Sam’s Club.
The “free” products included a RoboKleen vacuum cleaner, an iPad Pro, an Everclean portable vacuum cleaner, Hi-Tech wireless earbuds, a 5.3K60 sports action camera, a Hair Halo Sonic hair dryer, a Ring video doorbell and a Ninja NeverDull knife set.
However, almost all of these offers were part of hidden subscription scams, the kind of scam where monthly subscription fees only appear on separate pages in the terms and conditions. These scams often make no mention of these fees on the checkout page, even in the grand total. Many of them also don’t include a checkbox for customers that would indicate they agree to abide by the terms.
In this case, the websites that hosted the hidden subscription scams included getqualitysavings.com, getqualityoffers.com, pixelmaxpro.com, peakproductzone.com, qualityexpressshop.com, premiumgadgetbargains.com, and specialtechdeals.com.
The website that hosted the iPad Pro page, premiumonlineshopper.com, did not mention subscription fees in its terms. However, the top of the page stated in large letters that anyone viewing the page was a “winner”. However, at the same time, the very bottom of the page indicated in very small letters that the user was simply the “winner” of a single entry in a sweepstakes that was not yet completed.
If any readers think they’ve been scammed by a hidden subscription scam, we recommend that you immediately call your credit card company (or any financial institution you paid with) to let them know. A new card number may be required to ensure that there are no more unauthorized charges on the compromised card.
As a general rule, if readers believe they have been the victim of fraud, we recommend that you file a report with the FTC.
Always remember with online scams that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
