PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The holiday shopping season is already underway, and there are sure to be some great deals out there.

However, there are also scams that target consumers. That is the bad news. The good news is that you do not have to become a victim.

You just got a text message… “Congratulations. You just won a gift card for $1,000 at Target.”

A lot of people in our area have begun getting those text messages, and some have wondered if they were true.

“I knew it was a hoax. Well, not really,” said one viewer.

The text messages are indicating winners for Walmart, Best Buy and other stores, and experts say they are all a hoax.

There are no winners and no prizes.

“Trust your instincts when you see something that seems too good to be true,” says Laura Merritt, of Verizon “If it seems fishy, don’t click on the link. What they’re trying to do is drive you to a website where they can get your personal information.”

That’s what happened when KDKA-TV clicked on one winning text.

After putting in a special code, personal information was requested. We didn’t go any further.

The best advice is not to ignore or delete the text messages, but report them to your carrier because there’s a good chance the messages can be blocked.

And remember, just like the cliché, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

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