Is Walmart required to provide a refund of $500 to consumers who shopped there in 2022, and will consumers have to answer four questions to receive this refund? No, that's not true: This post is an online scam. Lead Stories has previously debunked similar claims about Walmart issuing a store credit of $500. The senior director of national media relations at Walmart told Lead Stories that "there is no truth to this post."
The claim appeared in a May 26, 2023, post (archived here) on a Facebook account called "Amy Kline." It opened:
If you shopped at Walmart in 2022, you could be entitled to a $500 refund! Walmart lost a lawsuit, and we can assist you in claiming your refund. Click 'Apply Now' and answer a few short questions to begin.
-- feeling wonderful.
Here is how the post appeared on Facebook at the time of the writing of this fact check:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken Fri June 2 at 14:05:26 2023 UTC)
Randy Hargrove, senior director of national media relations at Walmart, emailed Lead Stories on June 2, 2023, that this claim is false:
There's no truth to what was posted.
The Facebook account cited in the post, "Amy Kline," was created on May 26, 2023, according to its Page transparency section. This is the same day the post was shared. The account only had five posts as of June 2, 2023.
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken June 1 at 15:00:26 2023 UTC)
Clicking the "Apply now" link attached to the bottom of the post takes users to a page that displays the Walmart logo but is not an official Walmart website, as the URL begins with "kitcheneleganceiik.site." One version of the page tells users that if they participate in a four-question survey they can receive a "$1,000 Gift Card," which doesn't match what's in the post. Another version of the page offers a recipe for "Easy Chicken Taco Cups Appetizers."
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken June 1 at 15:20:26 2023 UTC)
A June 1, 2023, Google search using the keywords, "Walmart lost a lawsuit AND If you shopped at Walmart in 2022, you could be entitled to a $500 refund," produced no results to substantiate this claim. A Walmart company news search using similar keywords also yielded no results.
A Yandex reverse image search revealed that the photo in the post was taken from a November 26, 2017, Seeking Alpha article. Seeking Alpha is an online investment application self-described as "the world's largest investing community."
If Walmart were issuing a refund, it's only to the original payment method. A consumer would only receive a Walmart shopping gift card if they returned in-store items without a receipt.
Walmart's Fraud Alert page identifies specific online posts as scams, such as the claim that is the target of this fact check. Under the Tips to Help Avoid Gift Card Fraud, the page reads:
Don't click on or respond to online ads or websites offering free gift cards. These are often scams.
Other Lead Stories fact checks on false claims regarding Walmart can be found here.
