How To Spot a Fake Walmart Email (And Other Walmart Scams)

How Do You Know If an Email From Walmart Is Real?

With over 37 million Walmart shoppers active online every single day, scammers know there’s a good chance that you could be waiting on an order — or an email — from the retail company. But should you trust every email claiming to be from Walmart? Not always. 

According to the latest research [*]:

Walmart was the most impersonated brand by scammers at the beginning of 2023, with 16% of all phishing attempts claiming to be from the shopping giant.

With millions of Walmart phishing emails being sent to victims every week, you need to be vigilant in protecting yourself online. 

In this guide, we’ll explain how Walmart phishing email scams work, provide examples of the latest Walmart scams to watch out for, and explain what to do if you’ve fallen victim.

What Is a Walmart Phishing Email? How Does the Scam Work?

Walmart phishing emails are a type of social engineering scam in which cybercriminals send fraudulent emails claiming to be from Walmart. The goal is to steal your personal and payment information, or even gain access to your Walmart.com account.

If you interact with a Walmart phishing email, you not only risk losing access to your Walmart.com account — Phishing scammers could also empty your bank account, use your personal information for identity theft, or infect your device with malware.   

Regardless of the specific tactic used, most Walmart phishing emails follow a similar pattern:

• Fraudsters send emails claiming to be from Walmart saying there’s an issue with your order or account. Scammers use a range of tactics to get you to engage with their emails — such as claiming that your Walmart.com account has been hacked, a delivery has been delayed, or that you need to update your payment information. 
• To fix the issue, you’re prompted to click on a link or call a phone number. Similar to other phishing scams, Walmart phishing emails almost always include links to fake websites — or fraudulent phone numbers that you’re asked to call in order to get customer or technical support. 
• If you click on the link, you’re then taken to a fake Walmart login page. While the page’s design looks almost identical to the official Walmart.com website, your login information is sent straight to the scammer. Once “logged in,” you may even be asked to verify your identity by sharing sensitive information, such as your Social Security Number (SSN) or bank account numbers.
• After disclosing your personal information, you’re redirected to the legitimate Walmart website. To hide their scam, fraudsters send you to the real Walmart.com login page in hopes that you’ll think there was a technical error. 
• The scammer then uses the information you provided to hack into your Walmart.com or other accounts. Once they have your login information, they can access your account and linked credit cards. They also use other personal information you’ve shared with them to get into your other accounts (like your bank) or steal your identity.

These scams don’t always take place over email. Scammers use this same process across many different formats – such as text messages, phone calls, social media, and even traditional mail.

The bottom line: Scammers know you’re more likely to trust emails and texts from trustworthy brands like Walmart, Amazon, Microsoft, or Apple. Consider protecting yourself (and your bank account) from scams with Identity Guard’s award-winning digital security and identity theft solution. Save up to 33% when you sign up for Identity Guard today.

Example: A Walmart Phishing Email That Almost Worked

While some Walmart phishing emails are easy to spot, fraudsters have become more sophisticated with their scams. 

Here’s a recent fake Walmart email that looks almost identical to an official message:

At first glance, the logo, “Reply-To” name, and sender address on this email look legitimate. 

If you’re subscribed to a Walmart+ membership, the email likely wouldn’t raise any red flags — especially since the greeting includes your name. But if you look more closely, you’ll start to notice telltale signs that a scammer has landed in your inbox.

Here are a few ways you can tell this email is fraudulent:

• The email wasn’t actually sent from an official Walmart.com address. When you inspect the sender’s information, you’ll discover that scammers have used domain spoofing to make it look like the email was sent by a Walmart.com email address when it really wasn’t.
• The email contains grammatical errors and strange phrasing. Official Walmart emails are often automated and proofread before being sent out to customers. Lots of errors or strangely personalized emails with unnatural phrasing and subject lines are usually indicative of a scam.
• It tries to create a sense of urgency. Fraudsters make up pressing scenarios in attempts to get you to act quickly without thinking. In this case, the email only provides three days to resolve the “payment issue” — or else you will supposedly lose access to your account. 
• The link takes you to a suspicious domain. Hover over any links before clicking. URLs that are excessively long or contain unusual strings of letters and numbers often lead to fake websites. Official Walmart links should start with “https://www.walmart.com/.”
• There’s no additional contact methods provided. The goal with these scams is to get you to click on a link in the email or reply to it directly, so scammers avoid including any other contact methods.

The 7 Latest Walmart Scams (And How To Avoid Them)

1. Fake Walmart delivery notices via texts or emails
2. Fraudulent Walmart giveaways and prizes
3. Emails offering prizes for completing a Walmart survey
4. Walmart secret shopper scams
5. Walmart “gift card virus” pop-up scams
6. Order confirmation message scams
7. Notifications to update your Walmart payment method

Walmart scammers are constantly adapting their strategies to trick unsuspecting victims into falling for their schemes. 

Here are seven of the latest Walmart scams — including phishing emails, fake texts, and online pop-ups — and the steps you can take to protect yourself against them.

1. Fake Walmart delivery notices via texts or emails

Scammers know that millions of people every day are waiting on deliveries from Walmart. In this scam, they send an email or text claiming there’s an issue with your delivery — such as mistakes in your shipping address, or even fees that need to be paid. 

But, if you click on the link to “fix” the issue, you’ll be taken to a fake website designed to steal your Walmart.com login information or payment details.

What to do if you get a delivery notification claiming to be from Walmart:

• Check your order status directly – not through links in unsolicited emails. After you place an order, Walmart sends official emails providing shipment details. Find that email in your inbox, and check the tracking information to see if the issue is listed. You can also find this information by searching your orders after logging in to your official Walmart.com account.
• Hover over links before clicking. Remember, any link that’s a true Walmart link should start with “https://www.walmart.com/.”
• Check the sender’s email. Click on the “from” name to reveal the sender’s true email address. If it’s not from a “Walmart.com” email address, it’s a scam.

💡 Related: Someone Is Using My Home Address Fraudulently! What Can I Do? →

2. Fraudulent Walmart giveaways and prizes

In this phishing scam, you receive an email that claims you’ve won a prize or giveaway from Walmart — you just need to click on the link to see what you’ve won.

However, by clicking on the link, you could unknowingly download malware to your device or be taken to a site that prompts you to “verify” your identity by providing personal information in order to claim the prize.

What to do if you receive an email claiming you won a Walmart giveaway:

• Consider whether the email seems far-fetched. If you didn’t enter any kind of giveaway, or the prize seems too good to be true, it’s a scam. Walmart won’t contact you out of the blue to offer generous prizes.
• Check to see if the email is actually addressed to you. Fraudsters send a number of generic emails at once in hopes that a handful of recipients fall for the ruse. If you’re addressed generically rather than by your name — with words such as “Account Holder” or “Member” — consider this a red flag.

💡 Related: How To Identify a Lottery Scam (12 Warning Signs) →

3. Emails offering prizes for completing a Walmart survey

This scam starts with an email promising you a special offer or gift card if you participate in a short survey about your Walmart experience. But when you click to enter the survey, you’re asked for personal details like your name, address, or even financial details such as credit card numbers.

What to do if you receive a “special offer” to fill out a Walmart survey:

• Never give out personal information in surveys. No legitimate companies ask for details like your home address, SSN, or bank account data in their customer experience surveys.
• Contact Walmart customer support directly. If you want to ensure that the survey is legitimate, send an email to Walmart directly at surveysupport@walmart.com. 
• Trust your gut. Being offered a large sum of money just to fill out a survey isn’t the norm. It’s possible to be granted entry into a sweepstakes for participating in a survey – but this doesn’t guarantee a prize.

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4. Walmart secret shopper scams

The Walmart secret shopper scam is a more complex type of fraud that often takes place via physical email (or as part of an online job scam). In this scheme, you receive a letter or email inviting you to become a Walmart mystery shopper, along with a check to cover the cost of the items you’re going to buy. 

Next, you’re instructed to deposit the check and send a portion of the money back to a different account. But a few days later, the check bounces and the full amount is taken out of your bank account. 

What to do if you receive a fake Walmart check solicitation in the mail:

• Don’t deposit or cash the check. A bounced check may cause your bank account to become overdrawn, resulting in fees and lost funds. Avoid depositing suspicious checks that seem too good to be true. At best, wait a few days and contact your bank to ensure that the funds have cleared. 
• Contact a U.S. Postal Inspector. If you receive suspicious mail, report it to the United States Postal Inspection Service.

💡 Related: What Is Check Washing? (And How To Protect Yourself) →

5. Walmart “gift card virus” pop-up scams

Many Walmart scams involve gift cards, as fraudsters know they’re easy to buy and almost impossible to refund or trace once you’ve sent them. In this particular Walmart gift card scam, victims are bombarded with pop-ups in their web browsers that advertise free gift cards — as long as you complete a survey.

If you’re seeing pop-ups like the one above, it likely means that your device has been infected with adware — a specific type of malware that takes over your browser and repeatedly displays ads. 

What to do if you keep seeing Walmart gift card survey pop-up ads:

• Close the page quickly. Whenever the pop-up appears, exit the page and avoid clicking on any links or entering any of your information.
• Remove the Walmart gift card pop-up malware from your device. The easiest way to do this is by installing antivirus software, but you can also remove it yourself by following these steps.

💡 Related: The 11 Latest Gift Card Scams (and How To Get Your Money Back) →

6. Order confirmation message scams

In this email scam, you receive a notification about a recent (usually large) purchase made from your account. The email then instructs you to call a support number if you wish to make changes or cancel the order.

But if you call the phone number noted in the email, you’re met with a scammer posing as a Walmart customer service representative.

What to do if you receive an unexpected Walmart order confirmation:

• Check your Walmart.com account if you don’t remember placing an order. Don’t panic if you receive a confirmation for a large order that you never placed. Avoid clicking on any links within the email, and instead log in to your Walmart.com account and navigate to Account > Purchase History — where you can see all of your orders.
• Contact Walmart via its official phone number. If you have questions about an order placed from your account, call Walmart’s official customer support number: 1-800-925-6278.

💡 Related: How To Secure Your Credit Card Against Fraud →

7. Notifications to update your Walmart payment method

In this scam, you receive an email claiming that there’s an issue with the debit card or payment method associated with your Walmart.com account — and that your account will be closed or your orders canceled if you don’t update your payment information. 

When you click on the link to update your information, you’re taken to a legitimate-looking but fake Walmart website — and any financial information that you provide goes straight to the scammer.

What to do if you receive a request to update your Walmart payment method:

• Scrutinize the email. Before you do anything, check to see if there are warning signs of a phishing scam — such as suspicious links, a sender or “from” address that is not an official Walmart.com email address, or poor spelling, grammar, and formatting. 
• Navigate to Walmart’s official website to review your payment information. If you would like to update your payment method, navigate to the official Walmart website (https://www.walmart.com) to do so. Never trust links in random emails.

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Did You Open or Click on a Link in a Walmart Phishing Email? Do This!

• Report phishing attacks to Walmart. Take a screenshot of the email in question, and send it to onlineabuse@walmart.com as an attachment. Avoid copying and pasting the email text or forwarding it directly.
• Secure your Walmart.com account. Change your Walmart account password, review your order history, and enable two-factor authentication (2FA) by going to Account > Personal info > Sign in preference.
• Check your credit for signs of fraud. Whenever there’s a chance that your SSN or financial information has been compromised, it’s a good idea to check your credit reports for new loans, accounts, or hard inquiries made in your name. You can request a free credit report from all three bureaus — Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion — at AnnualCreditReport.com.
• Freeze your credit. A credit freeze prevents scammers from opening new accounts in your name or using your credit. Follow this guide on how to freeze your credit with all three bureaus. 
• Make fraud reports to the FTC and Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). Report the phishing email to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) by visiting ReportFraud.ftc.gov. You might also want to file a complaint with the FBI’s online crime portal as well.
• File a report with your local law enforcement. If the phishing email led to lost funds or your identity was stolen, you should report the incident to your local police.
• Scan your devices for malware. If you clicked on a link in a Walmart phishing email, there’s a chance you accidentally downloaded malware. Make sure to run an antivirus scan on all of your devices.
• Check and secure your other accounts. If you have other accounts associated with the same password as your Walmart.com account, scammers might try to hack into those as well. Where applicable, update your passwords to be more unique, complex, and secure.

💡 Related: What To Do If a Scammer Has Your Email Address →

The Bottom Line: Protect Yourself From Walmart Scams

The ongoing threat of Walmart phishing emails can put your Walmart account, personal data, and linked financial information at risk. Scammers are aware that a large number of people regularly shop at Walmart, which makes it easy to target a significant pool of potential victims at once.

Here’s what you can do to keep your Walmart.com and other accounts safe from scammers:

• Use secure and unique passwords. When creating passwords, aim for at least 10 characters, and use a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, symbols, and numbers. Avoid using the same password across multiple accounts.
• Enable 2FA on your accounts. Two-factor (2FA) or multi-factor (MFA) authentication typically require one-time codes that provide an additional layer of security against scammers.
• Never give out passwords, PINs, or one-time use codes (2FA). There’s never a good reason to give out this information to anyone.
• Don’t click on links in suspicious emails. Hover over links to ensure that they’re legitimate before clicking on them. When in doubt, avoid clicking altogether.
• Refrain from saving your payment information on Walmart.com. It may take longer to complete your purchase; but entering your payment information each time ensures that scammers can’t access your data if they gain access to your Walmart account. 
• Consider investing in a cybersecurity service. Identity Guard provides robust security against identity theft and fraud, protecting you and your family from online scammers and identity thieves. If the worst should happen, you’re covered for up to $1 million in eligible losses due to identity theft. 

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