Notorious ‘free Smeg Kettle’ scam doing the rounds targeting Irish shoppers

A notorious scam which poses as a fantastic deal on luxury kitchen appliances is doing the rounds in Ireland again – with retailers warning customers not to fall for the too-good-to-be-true offer.

The ‘free Smeg kettle’ scam has been popping up around social media across the globe, with consumers in the UK, the US, Canada, Australia and India all being targetted with deals on colourful Smeg kettles. Now, con artists are targeting Irish users with convincing kettle offers.

Bogus posts are flooding Facebook feeds with convincing stories of ‘stock clearances’ and ‘special offers’ on kettles from as little as €1.95. Customers are told to enter their details to receive a €150 kettle for just a couple of euros.

The scammers ask people to fill out a survey to claim the cheap product, but instead of receiving a ‘free kettle,’ the con artists take personal information and drain your bank account. The comment sections of the false posts are also convincing – often filled with fake bot profiles claiming to have received their shiny new Smeg for just €2, complete with a photo of their ‘new kettle.’

Social media users across Ireland have been bombarded with advertisements and promotions for the seemingly bargain offers on cheap home goods. Sneaky scam artists are posing as reputable Irish and international retailers with superb offers on Smeg products. But the offer is completely fake, retailers have said, and encouraged shoppers not to fall for the scam or click any suspicious links.

One new page which has attracted attention is purporting to be that of PowerCity, a well-known Irish electrical retail brand. Following the emergence of the scam, a spokesman for the company told CorkBeo: “We don’t even sell Smeg.”

Other names that have been used to encourage consumers to click dodgy links include big brands like Lidl.

The PowerCity spokesperson warned social media users that the fake Facebook pages are not genuine retailers and that it is not running the promotion, nor is Smeg, and encouraged others to block and report scam pages.