GIFT CARDS- They Are for Gifts, Not Paying Scammers

Anyone who has paid attention to the news knows that if you receive a cold call from someone claiming to be from the IRS, the local police claiming you missed jury duty, or from Microsoft tech support offering to help fix a problem with your computer that they say they detected and asking or demanding payment in gift cards is a scammer.

Some other examples of scams using gift cards, that have not received as much publicity include:

·         callers pretending to be from a utility company, telling you to pay your bill by gift card or they’ll cut off your power or water

·         sellers on online auction sites who ask for gift cards to “buy” big items like cars, motorcycles, boats, RVs, tractors and electronics

·         someone posing as a servicemember to get your sympathy, saying he has to sell something quickly before deployment and needs you to pay by gift card

·         callers who say you’ve won a so-called prize, for a sweepstakes you probably never entered – but first, you have to use a gift card to pay fees or other charges

·         someone buying something from you, probably online, who sends a check for more than the purchase price – and asks you to give them the difference on a gift card. (That check, by the way, will turn out to be fake.)

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recommends that if you do find that you have paid a scammer with a gift card report it to the company to that issued the card right away. Ask if they can refund the money because you were a victim of a scam. Also, the FTC recommends that you report the incident to the Washington State Attorney General (https://www.atg.wa.gov/file-complaint).

While it may seem obvious to avoid paying scammers with gift cards, it still can happen to you. KIRO TV News has broadcast this report about a local victim of the Social Security scam losing $9,500.



KIRO TV:

 https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/puget-sound-area-man-out-9-500-after-falling-victim-to-social-security-scam/1015862354



For more information about gift cards and scams, check out this link:



Federal Trade Commission:

https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/paying-scammers-gift-cards