How to remove apps promoting the Amazon loyalty program scam and others

What is "Amazon loyalty program" scam?

This deceptive website may appear similar to a legitimate survey from Amazon, however, the official Amazon company has nothing to do with this scam. Generally, scammers behind such web pages attempt to trick visitors into believing that, in return for participation in a survey, they can receive a prize.

Commonly, these survey scams are used to extract personal, sensitive information. Do not to trust this or other deceptive, unofficial websites. Note that these bogus web pages are often opened through other untrusted sites, deceptive ads, or by installed potentially unwanted applications (PUAs).

Scammers behind this website try to trick visitors into believing that they were chosen to participate in a survey and, after completion, they will receive a prize. At the time of research, this deceptive site offered an iPhone 11 Pro as a prize.

Commonly, these pages ask visitors to answer some questions but also to provide personal, sensitive information such as name, surname, email address, credit card details and various other details, which could be misused to steal identities, make fraudulent purchases and transactions, or used for other malicious purposes.

These scam websites often ask users to pay processing fees, transfer charges, etc., so that the winnings can be distributed. In fact, visitors never receive any prizes and information on websites of this kind should be disregarded. As mentioned, in most cases people, arrive at these web pages unintentionally - they are opened by browsers with PUAs installed on them.

PUAs promote untrusted, scam websites, collect user-system information, and serve advertisements. They often gather details such as IP addresses, geolocations, addresses of visited websites, entered search queries, etc., however, some can be capable of accessing private, sensitive information as well.

Furthermore, the developers could sell gathered data to third parties (potentially, cyber criminals) or misuse it to generate revenue in other ways. PUAs can also serve coupons, banners, pop-ups, surveys and other types of advertisements.

When clicked, these might open dubious websites or even execute scripts designed to cause download and installation of unwanted applications.

Threat Summary:

Name	Amazon loyalty program pop-up
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud.
Fake Claim	Visitors can win an iPhone 11 Pro (or other prize).
Related Domain	freebonus2020[.]shop
Symptoms	Fake error messages, fake system warnings, pop-up errors, hoax computer scan.
Distribution methods	Compromised websites, rogue online pop-up ads, potentially unwanted applications.
Damage	Loss of sensitive private information, monetary loss, identity theft.
Malware Removal (Windows)	To eliminate possible malware infections, scan your computer with legitimate antivirus software. Our security researchers recommend using Combo Cleaner. ▼ Download Combo Cleaner To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available.

"$1000 Venmo Gift Card", "You've Made The 9.68-Billionth Search" and "2020 Visitor Feedback Survey" are examples of other similar scams used to extract sensitive information and/or money. Commonly, scammers use names of well-known companies to make these scams seem legitimate, however, no reputable company or organization has anything to do with them.

Commonly, browsers that open these pages have PUAs installed on them (users often do not download or install them intentionally).

How did potentially unwanted applications install on my computer?

PUAs are commonly distributed by integrating them into the download and/or installation set-ups of other programs, so that a proportion of users inadvertently download and install them together with their chosen software. This distribution method is known as "bundling".

Offers to download and install additionally-included apps usually appear in "Advanced", "Custom" and other settings of the set-ups (where they can usually be declined). Many users fail to check and change these settings, thereby granting permission for PUAs to be downloaded and installed by default.

In addition, unwanted downloads and installations are sometimes caused by clicking deceptive advertisements capable of executing certain scripts.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications

You are advised to research all software before download/installation. Use only official and verified download channels. Unofficial and free file-hosting websites, Peer-to-Peer sharing networks (BitTorrent, Gnutella, eMule), and other third party downloaders commonly offer harmful and bundled content, and are therefore untrusted and should be avoided.

When downloading/installing, read the terms, study all possible options, use the "Custom/Advanced" settings and opt-out of additional apps, tools, features, and so on. Intrusive advertisements typically seem legitimate, however, they can redirect to dubious and malicious sites (e.g. gambling, pornography, adult-dating, and many others).

If you encounter ads or redirects of this kind, inspect the system and remove all dubious applications and browser extensions/plug-ins immediately. If your computer is already infected with PUAs, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate them.

The appearance of "Amazon loyalty program" pop-up scam (GIF):

Text presented in "Amazon loyalty program" scam page:

Amazon loyalty program
Congratulations!
Today, 18 September 2020, you have been chosen to participate in our survey. It will only take you a minute and you will receive a fantastic prize: an iPhone 11 Pro!

 

Each Friday we randomly choose 10 users to give them a chance to win amazing prizes. Today's prize is a iPhone 11 Pro! There will be 10 lucky winners. This promotion is only valid for United Kingdom!

 

This survey aims to improve the quality of service for our users and your participation will be rewarded 100%.

 

You only have 0 minutes and 00 seconds, to answer this survey!

 

Hurry up, the number of prizes available is limited

Screenshot of a browser notification (delivered by speredbin[.]top) which redirects to a deceptive site (frees-prize[.]vip) designed to deliver the "Amazon Loyalty Program" pop-up scam:

Screenshot of the website (frees-prize[.]vip):

Text presented within:

Amazon loyalty program!
Today, 6 November 2020, you have been randomly selected to take this survey. It will only take a minute and you will receive a amazing prize: iPhone 11 Pro!

Like every Friday, we offer amazing prizes to 10 users. Today's prize is an iPhone 11 Pro! Only 10 lucky users living in United States will be the winners!

This survey is conducted to improve the services provided to our users, and your participation will be 100% rewarded!

Hurry up, the prizes are limited!

Screenshot of yet another Amazon Loyalty Program-themed scam website (winfreegift[.]club):

Text presented within:

Amazon Loyalty Program

Congratulations!

Today, 12 March 2021, you have been chosen to participate in our survey. It will only take you a minute and you will receive a fantastic prize: an Apple Watch!

Each Friday we randomly choose 10 users to give them a chance to win amazing prizes. Today's prize is an Apple Watch! There will be 10 lucky winners. This promotion is only valid for United States!

This survey aims to improve the quality of service for our users and your participation will be rewarded 100%

You only have 0 minutes and 00 seconds, to answer this survey!

Hurry up, the number of prizes available is limited!

Yet another variant of the "Amazon Loyalty Program" pop-up scam:

Appearance of this scam variant (GIF):

Text presented within:

Congratulations!
Today, 17 March 2021, you have been randomly selected to take this survey. It will only take a minute and you will receive a amazing prize: Apple iPhone 12 Pro!

Like every Wednesday, we offer amazing prizes to 10 users. Today's prize is an Apple iPhone 12 Pro! Only 10 lucky users living in Canada will be the winners!

This survey is conducted to improve the services provided to our users, and your participation will be 100% rewarded!

Hurry up, the prizes are limited!

Questions 1/4: Are you male or female?

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Quick menu:

• What is "Amazon loyalty program"?
• STEP 1. Uninstall deceptive applications using Control Panel.
• STEP 2. Remove rogue extensions from Google Chrome.
• STEP 3. Remove potentially unwanted plug-ins from Mozilla Firefox.
• STEP 4. Remove rogue extensions from Safari.
• STEP 5. Remove rogue plug-ins from Microsoft Edge.
• STEP 6. Remove adware from Internet Explorer.

Removal of potentially unwanted applications:

Windows 7 users:

Click Start (Windows Logo at the bottom left corner of your desktop), choose Control Panel. Locate Programs and click Uninstall a program.

Windows XP users:

Click Start, choose Settings and click Control Panel. Locate and click Add or Remove Programs.

Windows 10 and Windows 8 users:

Right-click in the lower left corner of the screen, in the Quick Access Menu select Control Panel. In the opened window choose Programs and Features.

Mac OSX users:

Click Finder, in the opened screen select Applications. Drag the app from the Applications folder to the Trash (located in your Dock), then right click the Trash icon and select Empty Trash.

In the uninstall programs window, look for any suspicious/recently-installed applications, select these entries and click "Uninstall" or "Remove".

After uninstalling the potentially unwanted application, scan your computer for any remaining unwanted components or possible malware infections. To scan your computer, use recommended malware removal software.

Remove rogue extensions from Internet browsers:

Video showing how to remove potentially unwanted browser add-ons:

Remove malicious extensions from Google Chrome:

Click the Chrome menu icon  (at the top right corner of Google Chrome), select "More tools" and click "Extensions". Locate all recently-installed suspicious browser add-ons and remove them.

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the amazon loyalty program pop-up, reset your Google Chrome browser settings. Click the Chrome menu icon  (at the top right corner of Google Chrome) and select Settings. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen. Click the Advanced… link.

After scrolling to the bottom of the screen, click the Reset (Restore settings to their original defaults) button.

In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Google Chrome settings to default by clicking the Reset button.

Remove malicious plug-ins from Mozilla Firefox:

Click the Firefox menu (at the top right corner of the main window), select "Add-ons". Click on "Extensions", in the opened window remove all recently-installed suspicious browser plug-ins.

Optional method:

Computer users who have problems with amazon loyalty program pop-up removal can reset their Mozilla Firefox settings.

Open Mozilla Firefox, at the top right corner of the main window, click the Firefox menu, in the opened menu, click Help.

Select Troubleshooting Information.

In the opened window, click the Refresh Firefox button.

In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Mozilla Firefox settings to default by clicking the Refresh Firefox button.

Remove malicious extensions from Safari:

Make sure your Safari browser is active, click Safari menu, and select Preferences....

In the opened window click Extensions, locate any recently installed suspicious extension, select it and click Uninstall.

Optional method:

Make sure your Safari browser is active and click on Safari menu. From the drop down menu select Clear History and Website Data...

In the opened window select all history and click the Clear History button.

Remove malicious extensions from Microsoft Edge:

Click the Edge menu icon  (at the upper-right corner of Microsoft Edge), select "Extensions". Locate all recently-installed suspicious browser add-ons and click "Remove" below their names.

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the amazon loyalty program pop-up, reset your Microsoft Edge browser settings. Click the Edge menu icon  (at the top right corner of Microsoft Edge) and select Settings.

In the opened settings menu select Reset settings.

Select Restore settings to their default values. In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Microsoft Edge settings to default by clicking the Reset button.

• If this did not help, follow these alternative instructions explaining how to reset the Microsoft Edge browser.

Remove malicious add-ons from Internet Explorer:

Click the "gear" icon (at the top right corner of Internet Explorer), select "Manage Add-ons". Look for any recently-installed suspicious browser extensions, select these entries and click "Remove".

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the amazon loyalty program pop-up, reset your Internet Explorer settings to default.

Windows XP users: Click Start, click Run, in the opened window type inetcpl.cpl In the opened window click the Advanced tab, then click Reset.

Windows Vista and Windows 7 users: Click the Windows logo, in the start search box type inetcpl.cpl and click enter. In the opened window click the Advanced tab, then click Reset.

Windows 8 users: Open Internet Explorer and click the gear icon. Select Internet Options.

In the opened window, select the Advanced tab.

Click the Reset button.

Confirm that you wish to reset Internet Explorer settings to default by clicking the Reset button.

Summary:

Commonly, adware or potentially unwanted applications infiltrate Internet browsers through free software downloads. Note that the safest source for downloading free software is via developers' websites only. To avoid installation of adware, be very attentive when downloading and installing free software. When installing previously-downloaded free programs, choose the custom or advanced installation options – this step will reveal any potentially unwanted applications listed for installation together with your chosen free program.

Removal assistance:
If you are experiencing problems while trying to remove amazon loyalty program pop-up from your computer, please ask for assistance in our malware support forum.

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