Gift Card Scams
Author: Nichlaus O.
A gift card is intended to be used in exchange for goods or services offered by the issuer. You shouldn't take it as a normal form of payment. Any seller who insists on a gift card payment is most likely a scammer.
Scammers love gift cards because they are NOT traceable. That should give you a hint of why scammers invest time and energy to these scams here.
Gift Card Payments over Cash
Have you ever been asked to pay for any good or service by a legitimate business? Paying for things through gift cards thrives in online platforms where sellers are individuals you can't meet.
Walmart, iTunes, eBay, and Google have several retailers that sell their gift cards.
Scammers will contact you claiming to be tech support, IRS agents, lottery official, or any other recognized official. They claim you owe a debt that should pay for in gift cards. Then ask that you send the code at the back of the card.
Some will call and claim that you have already used a service. And you should pay through gift cards. Hang up and ignore such calls in the future.
Other online shopping scammers offer goods online at great bargain prices and insist that you pay through gift cards. Once you give them the gift card code they go silent on you and the money in the card vanishes!
There have also been charity scams connected to gift cards. Scammers posing as clergymen raising money for a worthy cause or a congregant in need. They call, text, or email the worshippers and ask them to buy gift cards then share their numbers.
The government and companies worth their salt do not ask for payment through gift cards. They ask for payment in real money.
Clever Gift Card PIN Theft
Some fraudsters are so bold as to visit stores that sell gift cards and instead of buying, they scratch to reveal the PIN, take a photo and put a sicker back on. Such a card will not appear damaged to your undiscerning eye. You will only realize that it's bogus after buying and trying to use it!
The scammer stole the PIN code but left the card. Only the PIN is necessary for exchanges.
Pay for Gift Card Shipping
It is common for scammers to pose as genuine company representatives. A Walmart gift card scam showed buyers being baited through an email. "Take part in a survey and you could win a $500 gift card", the email said.
Here's the catch: send $1 for shipping. Please don't. It's a scam.
If you have won a gift card worth $500 why should there be a cost for sending it to you? There shouldn't be. But this was an Advance Fee scam all along. Don't fall for it.
Phishing eGift Card Email
If you get an email that you've won an electronic gift card, please do not click on the link given to claim it! Such emails will lead you to lose your personal information without knowing. The link given to "claim" your gift card will lead to 2 things:
- A site where you need to input your personal information, OR,
- A prompt to download and install software.
None of these are options you should take when online. Avoid them, they are most likely scam in the making.
Warning Signs of a Gift Card Scam
- Tampered gift card packaging.
- The insistence by a seller to pay through a particular retailer's gift card.
- Some more scam signs.
If You Fall Victim to a Gift Card Scam
- Report to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
- Report the scam details to the gift card issuer
Report a Scam!
Have you fallen for a hoax, bought a fake product? Report the site and warn others!
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