A routine trip to Lowe's turned stressful for one Pittsburgh shopper after a simple receipt survey nearly morphed into a full-blown scam attempt. She told KDKA that when she went online to complete the customer survey printed at the bottom of her receipt, she was suddenly redirected to a page claiming she had won a prize and demanding more personal and payment information.
Her experience, detailed in a report from CBS News Pittsburgh, is a cautionary tale for anyone who clicks those survey links without a second thought. KDKA investigator Meghan Schiller walked through how that single click led to a slick, prize-themed page designed to look legitimate, then quickly escalated to aggressive requests for sensitive data.
How the receipt trick works
These scams typically start with what appears to be a straightforward store survey that looks like it came directly from the retailer. Once the shopper clicks through, the page flashes a prize or reward message and then insists on a "verification" fee or asks for gift card or credit card numbers. Reports collected by BBB Scam Tracker describe victims who followed Lowe's-branded survey prompts, called the phone numbers provided, and lost money after shelling out for supposed shipping or verification costs.
What Lowe's tells customers
According to Lowe's, many of these survey schemes live on websites that have nothing to do with the company. Lowe's says its official survey "can only be completed online" and stresses that it will not ask shoppers to send passwords, Social Security numbers, bank account details, gift card numbers, or credit card information by email or through sketchy pop-up pages.
Security researchers: a broader pattern
Cybersecurity experts say this is part of a wider playbook that relies on cloned retailer sites and fake promotions to funnel people into shady affiliate programs, bogus verification steps, or surprise charges. Researchers at Malwarebytes report finding similar fake invoice and reward schemes while the fraudsters were still putting the campaigns together.
If you clicked the link
If you have already interacted with a suspicious survey page, stop immediately and avoid entering more information or calling any phone numbers it displays. Contact your bank or card issuer right away, update passwords connected to the affected accounts, and report what happened to the FTC as well as to Lowe's customer care or local law enforcement. The FTC's gift card scam guidance outlines what to do next and how to file a report.
Shoppers who genuinely want to share feedback with Lowe's should head directly to the retailer's official website and enter the code printed on their receipt, instead of following eye-catching ads or pop-up offers. The KDKA report is a reminder that a link that looks familiar is not always safe, so it pays to pause before you click.
