SCAM ALERT : Congratulations Dear Amazon Customer pop-ups

What is Congratulations Dear Amazon Customer scam?

Congratulations Dear Amazon Customer is a scam website that uses social engineering to trick you and other unsuspecting victims into completing different surveys from this or similar web-sites. While this site looks like a legitimate survey from Amazon, it really has nothing to do with Amazon and therefore cannot be trusted. Usually scammers create such sites with the aim of making money in one way or another. Users almost never visit scam sites on their own. Most visitors come to them after a mistyped URL, clicking on a malicious link, or being redirected by adware and PUAs (potentially unwanted apps).

QUICK LINKS

• What is Congratulations Dear Amazon Customer scam?
• Threat Summary
• How to remove Congratulations Dear Amazon Customer pop ups

The Congratulations Dear Amazon Customer scam shows a pop-up window containing a message that the visitor’s IP-address has been selected to receive a free iPhone 11 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S9 or Samsung Galaxy Tab. But in order to get a prize, the visitor needs to answer a few simple questions, which are presented in the form of an online survey. Security researchers notice that no matter how the visitor answers the questions asked, the result is always the same. The site will thank the visitor for answering the questions asked and offer to choose one of the prizes. The site warns that the number of prizes is limited and therefore the visitor needs to choose a prize as soon as possible. After choosing a prize, the Congratulations Dear Amazon Customer pop-up requires the visitor to fill out a form, providing additional information such as first name, last name, address, etc. Security experts warn that visitors should not leave personal data on this and similar sites, as the scammers behind these sites can use the obtained data to make money. The received data can be sold, as well as used for malicious purposes and fraud.

As we said above, adware and PUPs can redirect users to the “Congratulations Dear Amazon Customer” scam, as well as collect information about the users and the infected computers. Attackers can obtain the following information: IP, geolocation, addresses of pages opened by the user, user search queries, and so on. In addition to the above, adware can display intrusive and deceptive advertisements. When clicking on this advertisement, the user can be redirected to malicious and deceptive sites, other malware and Trojans can be installed on the computer. Most often, these malicious ads are presented in the form of coupons, pop-ups with discounts, various online surveys and offers to win a free prize.

Threat Summary

Name	Congratulations Dear Amazon Customer
Type	scam, phishing, survey scam
Detection Names	Malicious (CyRadar), Phishing (G-Data), Phishing (Fortinet), Malware (Sophos AV)
Symptoms	fake system alerts, fake error warnings, pop-up errors
Distribution	Adware, potentially unwanted programs, misleading ads
Removal	To scan your computer and remove PUPs and Adware, we recommend using the following guide

 

Of course, this scam is not the only one dangerous for Internet users. We have already written about similar websites many times: Fortnite Hack Generator, Amazon loyalty program, 2020 Annual Visitor Survey, You’ve made the 7.38-billionth search. All of these websites are created by scammers in order to deceive visitors and obtain their personal data. Visitors are informed that they have won a prize and are invited to complete an online survey. Most often, scammers use the names of well-known companies and brands to make their scam more believable.

How does PUPs get on the computer

PUPs, Adware and other unwanted software usually comes on the PC with freeware. In many cases, it comes without the user’s knowledge. Therefore, many users aren’t even aware that their PC has been affected with potentially unwanted programs. Please follow the easy rules in order to protect your PC from adware and PUPs: do not install any suspicious apps, read the user agreement and choose only the Custom, Manual or Advanced installation mode, do not rush to press the Next button. Also, always try to find a review of the program on the World Wide Web. Be careful and attentive!

Text presented in the Congratulations Dear Amazon Customer pop-up:

Sehr geehrter Amazon Kunde
Sie wurden für eine exklusive Belohnung ausgewählt!
Um sich für dieses Sonderangebot zu qualifizieren, müssen Sie lediglich unsere 30-sekündige Marketingumfrage über Ihre Erfahrungen mit Amazon ausfüllen
Sie haben noch 04:41 Minuten

English version:

Dear Amazon customer
You have been selected for an exclusive reward!
To qualify for this special offer, all you need to do is complete our 30-second marketing survey about your experience with Amazon
You have 4:41 minutes left

Screenshot of the first step:

Text in this page:

Kundenumfrage 2020
12 Oktober 2020
Frage 1 von 6
Sind Sie männlich oder weiblich?
Männlich
Weiblich

English version:

Customer survey 2020
12 October 2020
Question 1 of 6
Are you male or female?
Male
Female

Screenshot of the second step:
 

Text in this page:

Frage 2 von 6
Wie alt sind Sie?
Unter 18
18-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
Über 60

English version:

Question 2 of 6
How old are they?
Under 18
18-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
Over 60

Screenshot of the third step:
 

Text in this page:

Frage 3 von 6
Wie zufrieden sind Sie insgesamt mit dem Service von Amazon?
Sehr zufrieden
Etwas zufrieden
Etwas enttäuscht
Sehr enttäuscht

English version:

Question 3 of 6
Overall, how satisfied are you with Amazon’s service?
Very satisfied
Somewhat satisfied
A little disappointed
Very disappointed

Screenshot of the fourth step:
 

Text in this page:

Frage 4 von 6
Haben Sie Ihre letzte Bestellung bei Amazon schnell genug erhalten?
Ja, ich erhielt sie schneller als gedacht
Ja, sie kam sehr pünktlich an
Nein, sie kam etwas zu spät an
Nein, sie kam sehr verspätet an

English version:

Question 4 of 6
Did you receive your last order on Amazon fast enough?
Yes, I received it sooner than I thought
Yes, it arrived very punctually
No, it was a little late
No, it arrived very late

Screenshot of the fifth step:
 

Text in this page:

Frage 5 von 6
Was kann Amazon verbessern?
Angebot
Versand
Nichts

English version:

Question 5 of 6
What can Amazon improve?
offer
shipping
Nothing

Screenshot of the sixth step:
 

Text in this page:

Frage 6 von 6
Was halten Sie von den Preisen bei Amazon?
Sie sind großartig
Sie sind recht gut
Sie sind in Ordnung
Sie sind recht hoch
Sie sind schrecklich!

English version:

Question 6 of 6
What do you think of the prices on Amazon?
they are amazing
You are pretty good
they are alright
They are quite high
You are terrible!

Screenshot of the last page:
 

Text presented on this page:

Vielen Dank, dass Sie an der Umfrage teilgenommen haben!
Aufgrund der extrem hohen Nachfrage haben wir nicht mehr alle Produkte auf Lager.
Sie können jetzt (1) aus den unten aufgeführten exklusiven Belohnungen wählen.
Diese Angebote sind NUR heute gültig: 12 Oktober 2020
✔ Rabatt-Code AMAZON42 erfolgreich eingelöst

English version:

Thank you for taking the survey!
Due to the extremely high demand, we no longer have all products in stock.
You can now (1) choose from the exclusive rewards listed below.
These offers are valid ONLY today: October 12, 2020
✔ Discount code AMAZON42 successfully redeemed

The Congratulations Dear Amazon Customer scam in action (GIF):

How to remove Congratulations Dear Amazon Customer pop-ups (Adware removal guide)

Fortunately, it is not hard to remove PUPs and Adware. In the following guidance, we will provide two ways to free your device of any unwanted software. One is the manual removal solution and the other is automatic removal way. You can select the way that best fits you. Please follow the removal guide below to unwanted software right now!

To remove Congratulations Dear Amazon Customer scam, perform the steps below:

1. Uninstall PUPs using Windows Control Panel
2. Remove Adware from Chrome
3. Remove Adware from Internet Explorer
4. Remove Adware from Firefox by resetting web-browser settings
5. Automatic Removal of PUPs and Adware
6. How to stop Congratulations Dear Amazon Customer pop up scam

Uninstall PUPs using Windows Control Panel

One of the first things to attempt for removal of adware software is to check your installed applications and look for unwanted and questionable apps. If there are any applications you do not recognize or are no longer using, you should remove them. If that doesn’t work, then you may need to run adware removal tool such as Zemana Anti-Malware.

Windows 10, 8.1, 8

Click the Windows button, type “Control panel” in search and press Enter. Choose “Programs and Features”, then “Uninstall a program”.

Look around the entire list of software installed on your PC system. Most probably, one of them is the adware related to the Congratulations Dear Amazon Customer popup. Choose the questionable program or the application that name is not familiar to you and uninstall it.

Windows Vista, 7

From the “Start” menu in Microsoft Windows, select “Control Panel”. Under the “Programs” icon, choose “Uninstall a program”.

Select the suspicious or any unknown applications, then press “Uninstall/Change” button to remove this unwanted application from your PC system.

Windows XP

Click the “Start” button, select “Control Panel” option. Click on “Add/Remove Programs”.

Choose an undesired program, then click “Change/Remove” button. Follow the prompts.

Remove Adware from Chrome

If you have adware problem or the Google Chrome is running slow, then reset Google Chrome settings can help you. In the steps below we will show you a way to reset your Chrome settings to original settings without reinstall. This will also help to remove Congratulations Dear Amazon Customer scam from your internet browser.

1. First, start the Chrome and press the Menu icon (icon in the form of three dots).
2. It will show the Chrome main menu. Select More Tools, then press Extensions.
3. You’ll see the list of installed extensions. If the list has the plugin labeled with “Installed by enterprise policy” or “Installed by your administrator”, then complete the following instructions: Remove Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy.
4. Now open the Google Chrome menu once again, click the “Settings” menu.
5. Next, click “Advanced” link, which located at the bottom of the Settings page.
6. On the bottom of the “Advanced settings” page, press the “Reset settings to their original defaults” button.
7. The Google Chrome will display the reset settings dialog box as on the image above.
8. Confirm the web browser’s reset by clicking on the “Reset” button.
9. To learn more, read the post How to reset Google Chrome settings to default.

Remove Adware from Internet Explorer

If you find that Internet Explorer web browser settings had been replaced by adware, then you can restore your settings, via the reset internet browser procedure.

First, open the Microsoft Internet Explorer, press ) button. Next, click “Internet Options” such as the one below.

In the “Internet Options” screen select the Advanced tab. Next, click Reset button. The Microsoft Internet Explorer will open the Reset Internet Explorer settings dialog box. Select the “Delete personal settings” check box and click Reset button.

You will now need to restart your PC system for the changes to take effect. It will get rid of adware responsible for the Congratulations Dear Amazon Customer scam, disable malicious and ad-supported web browser’s extensions and restore the Internet Explorer’s settings such as home page, new tab and search engine by default to default state.

Remove Adware from Firefox by resetting web-browser settings

Resetting Firefox web-browser will reset all the settings to their original state and will remove malicious settings and extensions. However, your saved passwords and bookmarks will not be changed, deleted or cleared.

First, launch the Firefox. Next, click the button in the form of three horizontal stripes (). It will show the drop-down menu. Next, press the Help button ().

In the Help menu click the “Troubleshooting Information”. In the upper-right corner of the “Troubleshooting Information” page press on “Refresh Firefox” button as shown below.

Confirm your action, click the “Refresh Firefox”.

Automatic Removal of PUPs and Adware

PUPs and Adware may hide its components which are difficult for you to find out and remove fully. This may lead to the fact that after some time, adware software once again infect your personal computer. Moreover, We want to note that it is not always safe to delete adware manually, if you don’t have much experience in setting up and configuring the MS Windows operating system. The best method to detect and remove adware and PUPs is to run free malicious software removal software.

Zemana Anti-Malware (ZAM) is a free utility that performs a scan of your device and displays if there are existing adware, browser hijackers, viruses, worms, spyware, trojans and other malware residing on your device. If malicious software is found, Zemana can automatically remove it. Zemana Anti Malware doesn’t conflict with other anti malware and antivirus applications installed on your PC.

1. Click the link below to download the latest version of Zemana Anti-Malware for Microsoft Windows. Save it on your Windows desktop or in any other place.
   
   

   Zemana AntiMalware
   154557 downloads
   Author: Zemana Ltd
   Category: Security tools
   Update: July 16, 2019
   
2. At the download page, click on the Download button. Your web browser will open the “Save as” prompt. Please save it onto your Windows desktop.
3. When the downloading process is finished, please close all software and open windows on your personal computer. Next, run a file called Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup.
4. This will launch the “Setup wizard” of Zemana Free onto your computer. Follow the prompts and don’t make any changes to default settings.
5. When the Setup wizard has finished installing, the Zemana Free will start and show the main window.
6. Further, click the “Scan” button for checking your computer for adware and PUPs. This procedure can take some time, so please be patient. While the Zemana AntiMalware application is scanning, you can see how many objects it has identified as threat.
7. After the scan is finished, you can check all threats found on your computer.
8. Review the scan results and then click the “Next” button. The tool will start to remove unwanted software. After finished, you may be prompted to reboot the computer.
9. Close the Zemana and continue with the next step.

If you are still having problems with the Congratulations Dear Amazon Customer popups — or just wish to scan your computer occasionally for adware and other malicious software — download MalwareBytes. It is free for home use, and identifies and removes various unwanted software that attacks your device or degrades computer performance. MalwareBytes can remove adware, potentially unwanted software as well as malicious software, including ransomware and trojans.

1. Click the link below to download the latest version of MalwareBytes Free for Microsoft Windows. Save it directly to your MS Windows Desktop.
   
   

   Malwarebytes Anti-malware
   309793 downloads
   Author: Malwarebytes
   Category: Security tools
   Update: April 15, 2020
   
2. After the download is done, close all applications and windows on your computer. Open a file location. Double-click on the icon that’s named MBsetup.
3. Choose “Personal computer” option and click Install button. Follow the prompts.
4. Once installation is finished, click the “Scan” button . MalwareBytes Anti-Malware tool will begin scanning the whole personal computer to find out adware and PUPs. This process can take quite a while, so please be patient. While the MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM) utility is scanning, you may see how many objects it has identified as being infected by malware.
5. As the scanning ends, it will open the Scan Results. When you’re ready, press “Quarantine”. Once the process is finished, you can be prompted to reboot your PC.

The following video offers a few simple steps on how to delete browser hijackers, adware and other malware with MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM).

How to stop Congratulations Dear Amazon Customer pop up scam

We suggest to install an ad-blocker program which can block the Congratulations Dear Amazon Customer scam and other misleading web pages. The adblocker tool like AdGuard is a program which basically removes advertising from the Internet and blocks access to malicious webpages. Moreover, security experts says that using adblocker applications is necessary to stay safe when surfing the Web.

1. Visit the page linked below to download AdGuard. Save it directly to your Microsoft Windows Desktop.
   
   

   Adguard download
   24677 downloads
   Version: 6.4
   Author: © Adguard
   Category: Security tools
   Update: November 15, 2018
   
2. After downloading it, start the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” program window. Follow the prompts.
3. When the setup is finished, press “Skip” to close the installation program and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial that will allow you get to know AdGuard better.
4. In most cases, the default settings are enough and you don’t need to change anything. Each time, when you launch your PC system, AdGuard will launch automatically and stop unwanted ads, block the Congratulations Dear Amazon Customer scam, as well as other malicious or misleading webpages. For an overview of all the features of the program, or to change its settings you can simply double-click on the icon called AdGuard, that is located on your desktop.

Finish words

Now your computer should be clean of adware software and PUPs. We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you block unwanted ads and unwanted malicious web-sites) and Zemana (to periodically scan your personal computer for new malicious software, hijackers and adware software). Make sure that you have all the Critical Updates recommended for Microsoft Windows operating system. Without regular updates you WILL NOT be protected when new browser hijackers, malicious software and adware are released.

If you are still having problems while trying to delete the Congratulations Dear Amazon Customer pop up scam from your web-browser, then ask for help here.