Visa Gift Card Numbers Scratched Off
Visa Gift Card Numbers Scratched Off - Have you ever received an email or text message from an IRS agent telling you that you owe taxes and that the only way to pay is to send the agency an e-gift card? Or maybe a state trooper calls you saying you have hundreds of dollars in speeding tickets and the only way to get them off your record is to call the numbers on the card.
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Visa Gift Card Numbers Scratched Off
If you receive such calls, emails or messages, ignore them. These are examples of gift card fraud, a type of scam in which criminals trick victims into sending them gift cards online or reading the numbers on the back of gift cards over the phone.
Fortunately, these types of gift card scams aren't too difficult to spot and avoid. Here are some of the most common gift card scams and steps you can take to avoid falling for them. The thieves behind these scams use sophisticated tactics to scare people into handing over gift cards.
The Federal Trade Commission says scammers call, text or email to tell them they're in financial trouble. They may say that the victims didn't pay their taxes, or were behind on their mortgage payments, or owed hundreds of dollars on speeding tickets, or were behind on their bills.
How Gift Card Scams Work
These criminals threaten to take the houses of these targets, or put them in jail or cut off their electricity if they don't pay. Scammers will require victims to purchase a gift card and either send them an electronic version of the card or provide them with the gift card number and PIN.
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Once they have that information, they will use it to buy anything they want with the gift card, and the victims will lose the money they spent on it. Scammers can try to trick you by phone, text, or email with these seven common gift card scams.
Here's how to spot scams and avoid them. In one of the most common gift card scams, a criminal will call or send a text or email claiming to be working with the IRS. This scammer will say you owe unpaid taxes and the IRS will arrest you if you don't pay now.
The robber said that you must pay your taxes with a gift card. After you buy a gift card (scammers usually request a gift card from a specific retailer), you call the criminal and read your gift card number and code. The scammer then uses this information to purchase items online with the gift cards you purchased.
How Gift Card Scams Work
The gift here? First, the IRS will not call, text or email you about unpaid taxes. The IRS will always send you a letter with a phone number. Second, the IRS will never threaten to send you to jail for paying back taxes. And finally, the IRS will not ask you to pay taxes on gift cards.
Gift card fraudsters often turn to bots — software applications that perform automated tasks online — to siphon gift card balances from unsuspecting customers. Fraudsters can use a bot called GiftGhostBot to scan online gift card balance verification systems. The bot searches this system for gift cards that have been activated.
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When the bot finds one, criminals use the gift card number to buy themselves or sell the gift card information on the dark web. When you use your card, you find that the balance is gone and the gift card is useless. Is there a way to avoid this scam?
Redeem your gift card as soon as you receive it, reducing the chance of bots finding your card information. Sometimes money brokers are involved in scams. Let's say you buy a gift card from a store. The cashier can activate this gift card, but instead of returning it to you, they will replace the card with a card that has not been activated.
7 Common Types Of Gift Card Scams
The cashier then keeps the activated card and gives you an inactive card. The cashier can then use the card you purchased to make a purchase. The best way to avoid this scam? Watch the cashiers when they watch you. Make sure they give you the gift card as soon as the card is activated.
Another popular gift card scam? Thieves, often armed with a magnetic reader gun that reads a number stored in a magnetic stripe on a gift card, take a handful of gift cards from stores like Walmart or Target. Thieves scan gift cards with readers, storing dozens of card numbers.
The scammer then highlights the gift card and leaves. The fraudster then calls the customer service number of those cards and enters the duplicate gift card number. This will tell the fraudster if someone has purchased and activated the gift card and how much is left on the card.
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Fraudsters can use your gift card number to make purchases online, spending the balance on the card you purchased. Want to get rid of this scam? Don't buy gift cards on public display at retail stores. You may be tempted to buy gift cards from online auction sites.
7 Common Types Of Gift Card Scams
don't. Scammers often sell gift cards that have not been activated on these sites. You pay off the card - thinking you're getting a good deal because you're paying less than the card's value - only to find out the gift card doesn't work. Other scammers lie about the value of gift cards they sell online.
They might say the gift card is $50. You charge the card, pick it up and see that there is only $5 left in its balance. To avoid this fraud, there is nothing simpler: do not buy gift cards from online auction sites. If you want to buy gift cards online, buy them directly from the retailer that offers them.
You may receive a call, email or text message from a scammer claiming you are entering a lottery or contest. This scammer claims you won a trip, a new car or a prize. But in order to claim the prize, you must pay a redemption or claim fee on the gift card.
The scammer asks you to buy a special gift card, call back and read the card number and code over the phone. This, of course, is another scam. No lottery, sweepstakes, or legitimate business will ask you to pay a fee to claim your prize.
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