Harbor Freight sketchy email?
Equipment
I keep getting this email that says I have been chosen as a “lucky winner” who gets to answer a survey and will receive this big tool kit. I generally try to avoid buying the cheap stuff, but it wouldn’t hurt to have a spare set like this in the car or the garage so that I don’t have to loan my good stuff to someone who might leave it out on the picnic table when he has finished working on his bike…. Not naming any names.
And, of course, if it’s free… ?
But, of course, “free” is never actually free, so just wondered if I should continue to let this go…
Any thoughts? Experiences with these guys?
Scam
Do a quick search for Harbor Freight free tool set scam
Been going around for months now along with lowes, Home Depot etc
Figured as much when it came into my “primary” in-box instead of “promotional”…
Thanks. Hope we saved someone else the pain.
Yep....I've been getting a similar email supposedly from Lowe's as well as one supposedly from Home Depot as well. I just delete them.
Yes, been getting those and many others from UPS and such. I believe they can see you ordered something or in this case see you have an account with Harbor Freight and use it to try and get your banking info from you by asking for it to get a prize or a refund.
I get these scams nearly every day from multiple sources claiming to be Stanley Tools, Lowes, Harbor Freight and others. Also get the ones thanking me for my purchase of Mcafee or other items and if the order is incorrect please call 866-xxx-xxxx.
Check the sender's email address and you will likely find it comes from addresses like - [email protected] or [email protected] or some other off the wall address.
The old rule of thumb is. "If it looks too good to be true it probably is"
I don’t think harbor freight carry’s Stanley tools
The tool set in pic with orange/red screw drivers isn't even Stanley tools. Those are Crescent.
Most of the time all you need to do is look at the sender actual email address. Odds are it has nothing related to Harbor Freight in it. If it appears to be somewhat legit you can always compare it to HFs email address listed on their website, which it likely won't match. 99.9995% of emails you receive that sound like this are spam.
Although just to day I received one in which apparently one of my long lost relatives has died and left me with $8.5M so the concerned email sender is trying to figure out how to deposit it into my bank account...
I’ve received enough “your todays winner, or congratulations, you have won….” scam mails to fill my garage with the winnings. They’re scams, don’t open, delete and move on.
Amazing how much junk mail is out there. They go straight to trash. Afraid to even open one due to malware risks.
What amazes me is that someone would still give a email like that a second look much less start a thread on bowsite about it.
What antivirus are you guys runnin’ these days
Ditto JohnMC
And totally agree with others, DON'T open it and DON'T click on any links. You should be able to see the senders address without doing either. Rule of thumb with emails...delete it
That’s a scam, easy to spot. Anyways, I don’t need any free stuff from Harbor Freight. I’m inheriting a fortune from a dying widow in Kenya, just waiting for the money to be deposited into my account. Maybe after that, I’ll buy a Governors Elk Tag or go on a sheep hunt :)
If it sounds too good to be true it probably is,I get them also
Forward it to the Attorney General of your state. Then set your email to send that user to 'junk'.
“ Most of the time all you need to do is look at the sender actual email address.”
Yeah- on the phone, though, I don’t see the sender without an Open. My scam filter is good enough that this is about the only thing getting through, so…..
But if you’re expecting to make me ashamed for starting a thread that’s not really related to bowhunting….
Now, THAT is FUUNNNN-NEE! I don’t care who ya are!!
Just consider it a bit of a PSA…
I won the generator last month.Is this country great or what?
Maybe you could start another PSA thread about not using the hairdryer in the shower or bathtub.
1... the email address is probably clearly not from harbor freight.
2... hover over a clickable link and in the bottom left of your screen you'll see the address it takes you to if you click. It's probably a garbled mess of an address... indicative of a scam.
3... they dont sell Stanley tools
Anyone else be shocked to see soccermom in a hardware store? And soccermom bed bath and beyond doesn't count.
Scammers are everywhere..I've even gotten emails that looked legit from Paypal...saying my account had been frozen. Be careful, these thieves are slick...almost as slick as US politicians
This thread made me stop at harbor freight today. I had a tool bag with well over 300 sockets. Too much thieving and “borrowing”. I needed a full set of 1/2” deep well sae and metric sockets. I bought all sizing for $32. It’s quite the sell on a decent socket. Pittsburgh brand. If you need spares or an extra set for a truck, these are a good value. You aren’t going to bust them.
Same scam came to me from Ace Hardware.
I get these scams nearly every day from multiple sources claiming to be Stanley Tools, Lowes, Harbor Freight, Ace Hardware, etc. I just automatically send them to junk.
Working in Ag, I'm fixing stuff about every day. Many times out in a field, in poor weather which means misplaced tools are unavoidable. We have higher quality tools but Pittsburgh stuff gets a lot of work done and its much easier to replace when it disappears.
Pretty obvious scam but people fall for it or the bad guys would stop trying.
I felt left out, but I see I got an email yesterday from them... yayy!
It's great that you're cautious about sketchy emails. While the idea of getting a free tool kit might sound tempting, it's always wise to be wary of such offers. Often, they come with hidden costs or might not be as advertised. If you're interested but want to be sure it's legitimate, you can use an
email checker to verify the email's authenticity. It's an extra step to ensure you're not falling into a scam. Remember, it's essential to prioritize your online security and privacy. If something feels off, it's better to be safe than sorry.
it’s definitely a scam. pm me your SS number along with your credit card info and I will scan your accounts to make sure they havent been compromised.
You guys keep deleting I’ll keep raking in the tool sets. Must have a hundred of these by now. ??
"Most of the time all you need to do is look at the sender actual email address."
So very this. When the email address doesn't match the business, assume it is a scam. No reason to look to for other people's validation that it is a scam.
An old thread about scams, revived by a spammer...cool!
I wondered where my tools were, been waiting for them……..
