A Persimmon employee is inundated by emails from respondents hoping to receive up to £500 in M&S vouchers

Persimmon Homes has been hit by a hoax email campaign. The bogus message promises up to £500 of Marks and Spencers vouchers to anybody who forwards the email to 20 friends.


bogus email

The hoax says that M&S were working in conjunction with Persimmon Homes on a word of mouth advertising campaign to promote M&S’s product and services.

Persimmon has posted a statement on its web site confirming that the voucher offer is a hoax. It states: "A hoax e-mail is being circulated offering a promotion of free Marks and Spencer vouchers for forwarding the e-mail to colleagues and friends."

"Neither Marks and Spencer or Persimmon Homes have made any such promotional offer. Please delete the hoax e-mail and notify the people to whom you have sent it that it is a hoax."

The message says that the vouchers would only be sent if recipients cc'd their emails to a Persimmon Homes employee. A spokesperson for Persimmon Homes confirmed that the person named did exist.

The employee is said to have turned on his Out of Office autoreply in response to the thousands of unwanted emails.

The hoax email

Dear all,
Marks & Spencers, in conjunction with Persimmon Homes, are giving away free vouchers. Marks & Spencers are trying word-of-mouth advertising to introduce its products and the reward you receive for advertising for them is free non-refundable vouchers to be used in any M&S store.
To receive your free vouchers by e-mail all you have to do is to send this email out to 8 people (for £100 of free vouchers) or 20 people (for £500 of free vouchers). Within 2 weeks you will receive an e-mail with your vouchers attached.
They will contact you through your e-mail address.

Please mark a copy to:@persimmonhomes.com"

Topics