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| - In March 2022, we looked at the legitimacy of an email that appeared to promise the chance to win a $100 or $1,000 Walmart gift card, all for taking a survey. The email's subject line read: "Take our survey and you could win $1000!" It claimed to come from "Walmart Customer Experience."
The Email
The specific email that we reviewed appeared like this:
It read as follows:
Take our survey and you could win $1000!
From: Walmart Customer Experience
Your chance to win a $1,000 Walmart gift card!
Got 2 minutes? Tell us about your recent Walmart.com experience for a chance to win a $1,000 Walmart gift card*. Your feedback will help us improve our service.
Based on your Walmart.com order placed on March 6, 2022, how likely is it that you would recommend Walmart.com to a friend or colleague?
Not At All Likely | Extremely Likely
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
*Entries drawn from $80,000 in total prizes.
*Win one of five $1,000 Walmart Gift Cards or one of 750 $100 Walmart Gift Cards.
* No purchase necessary. Must be 18 or older and a legal resident of the 50 US, DC, or PR to enter. To enter without purchase and for official rules, visit www.entry.survey.walmart.com. Sweepstakes period ends on the date outlined in the official rules. Survey must be taken within ONE week of today. Void where prohibited. Sweepstakes Rules.
The main part that caught our eye was the fact that it mentioned "$80,000 in total prizes."
The Sweepstakes
After reviewing the message, we determined that this was not a scam but a legitimate email and sweepstakes that offered a chance to win a $100 or $1,000 Walmart gift card. The email is sent to customers after they make a purchase on Walmart.com. It's sent by Medallia.com, a "customer experience" platform that works with Walmart and other major brands. The same sweepstakes also appeared to be available to customers who received a receipt from an in-store purchase.
The official rules on Walmart's corporate website said that the company really was giving away five $1,000 gift cards and 750 $100 gift cards. At the time, the sweepstakes period was Jan. 29, 2022, through April 29 of the same year.
However, this wasn't a one-time thing. This was a recurring sweepstakes that happens every three months. Readers can even enter without making a purchase at www.entry.survey.walmart.com.
Be Wary of Email Scams
While this Walmart gift card giveaway was indeed legitimate, we urge readers to be cautious about trusting other flashy offers that are received in email messages.
In the weeks prior to our review of this Walmart email, we previously reported on a long list of email scams.
For example, we published stories covering email scams for Lowe's, UPS, Paypal, McDonald's, CVS Pharmacy, Capital One, Costco, eBay, and others.
Needless to say, it was refreshing to find that the $1,000 Walmart gift card email sweepstakes actually included a legitimate offer.
Curious about how Snopes' writers verify information and craft their stories for public consumption? We've collected some posts that help explain how we do what we do. Happy reading and let us know what else you might be interested in knowing.
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