Texts saying you won a Walmart gift card, or about a Walmart product recall, aren’t from Walmart by its own account. What these texts want, how to check, and where to report them.
What the text usually says
The Walmart text is usually a prize. Walmart’s fraud page describes it plainly: “The fraudster may text you saying you’ve won a free gift card. Remember, you can’t win a contest you didn’t enter.” The link leads to a form, and the form wants a card number or personal details before the prize can be claimed.
Other versions borrow Walmart’s name for a product recall, or offer a job — Walmart lists mystery-shopper offers arriving “via mail, text, or email.” Walmart also warns about a check that arrives in the mail with a request attached, which it addresses directly below.
What Walmart says it won’t do
Walmart’s own statements: “Walmart doesn’t notify winners of any contest via text message.” “Walmart does not send text messages about product recalls and instead communicates product recall information through official websites and direct email notifications.”
And, on a check-in-the-mail scam: “Walmart will NEVER mail you a check and ask that you deposit it to purchase an item or service and keep the remainder of the amount as payment for services.”
How to check
If a message mentions an order, look for it in the Walmart app you already have or on walmart.com typed in yourself. For anything else, Walmart’s advice is to call a trusted number, such as “the one on a statement or invoice, the back of your credit/debit card, or on their official website.”
How to report it
Walmart’s page doesn’t publish a way to report a scam text. The address it gives, OnlineAbuse@walmart.com, is for emails, sent as an attachment. For a text, the FTC’s advice applies: forward it to 7726 (SPAM), report it as junk in your messaging app, and report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
If gift cards were already bought and their numbers handed over, Walmart lists a number for gift card scams on its fraud page, (888) 537-5503. Call quickly, with the cards and the receipt to hand.
If you already tapped the link or paid
Who to call depends on how the money left, and the sooner the better. Here is who to call for each way of paying.
Got one and not sure?
Paste it into Second Look, or text it over, and Rowan will tell you in plain English what it sees. Free, and no account.
Sources
What Walmart says is quoted from its own pages. Rowan isn’t affiliated with Walmart.
- Walmart: Fraud alerts, checked on September 26, 2026
- FTC: How to recognize and report spam text messages, checked on September 26, 2026