{
  "slug": "ikea-birthday-voucher",
  "canonical_name": "IKEA \"75th birthday\" voucher message",
  "family": "prize-refund-tax",
  "impersonates": {
    "brand": "IKEA",
    "disclaimer": "IKEA is not involved; criminals impersonate the brand.",
    "official_fraud_page": null
  },
  "goal": [
    "personal-data"
  ],
  "channels": [
    "whatsapp",
    "email",
    "social"
  ],
  "summary": "A 2017 message spread on WhatsApp and by email: IKEA is giving away $500 vouchers for its 75th birthday, click to claim. The claim page collected personal details and asked recipients to forward the message to friends. IKEA said publicly it had no such promotion.",
  "status": "archived",
  "first_seen": "2017-11",
  "last_seen": "2017-11",
  "recognise": [
    "Too good to be true, and it says so itself: a $500 voucher for clicking",
    "Spelling and spacing errors (\"thanks me later\")",
    "You must share it to \"unlock\" the voucher"
  ],
  "variants": [],
  "specimen": {
    "date": "2017-11",
    "channel": "whatsapp",
    "from": null,
    "reply_to": null,
    "subject": null,
    "attachment": null,
    "body_text": "Hey !!, IKEA is giving away a free voucher of $500 ! To celebrate its 75th birthday, you can get your free Voucher too! Don't miss it, click here to get your free $500 Voucher from IKEA: [rogue link]",
    "redactions": [
      "link"
    ],
    "image": "/wp-content/uploads/ikea-75th-birthday-voucher-scam-message.png",
    "sources": [
      "https://soft2secure.com/knowledgebase/ikea-75th-birthday-voucher-scam"
    ]
  },
  "tells": [],
  "indicators": {
    "sender_domains": [],
    "senders": [],
    "reply_to": [],
    "phone_numbers": [],
    "urls": [],
    "wallets": [],
    "attachments": [],
    "note": "Indicators change weekly; an empty list never means an email is safe."
  },
  "what_to_do": {
    "if_received": [
      "Do not click and do not forward it",
      "Delete it"
    ],
    "if_called_or_paid": [
      "Entered a password? Change it now, and everywhere else you used the same one",
      "Entered card details? Call your bank, ask them to block the card and reissue",
      "Entered a one-time code? Sign in to the real service now and check for changes to email, phone and payment settings"
    ],
    "report_links": [
      {
        "label": "Report to the FTC",
        "url": "https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/"
      },
      {
        "label": "Action Fraud (UK)",
        "url": "https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/"
      }
    ]
  },
  "malware_family": null,
  "timeline": [
    {
      "date": "2017-11-14",
      "type": "specimen",
      "title": "Specimen №1: the WhatsApp voucher message",
      "text": "The guide quoted the message and noted IKEA's public denial.",
      "added": [],
      "removed": [],
      "sources": [
        "https://soft2secure.com/knowledgebase/ikea-75th-birthday-voucher-scam"
      ]
    },
    {
      "date": "2026-09-02",
      "type": "registry",
      "title": "Family created",
      "text": "Grew out of the 2017 guide. The \"anniversary voucher\" template returns under other retail brands.",
      "added": [],
      "removed": [],
      "sources": []
    }
  ],
  "related": [],
  "sources": [
    "https://soft2secure.com/knowledgebase/ikea-75th-birthday-voucher-scam"
  ],
  "legacy_urls": [
    "/knowledgebase/ikea-75th-birthday-voucher-scam"
  ],
  "legacy_redirect": false,
  "created": "2026-09-02",
  "updated": "2026-09-02",
  "changelog": [
    {
      "date": "2026-09-02",
      "text": "Record created at the registry launch."
    }
  ],
  "url": "https://soft2secure.com/scams/ikea-birthday-voucher",
  "licence": "CC BY 4.0",
  "generated": "2026-09-03"
}