Why Do Scammers Ask For Gift Cards
Why Do Scammers Ask For Gift Cards - Have you ever received a voice or text message from an IRS agent warning you that you owe taxes and can only pay them if you send the agency an electronic gift card? Or a state trooper calls to say you owe hundreds of dollars in speeding tickets and the only way to get them off your record is to call Amazon gift card numbers to pay the fines.
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Why Do Scammers Ask For Gift Cards
If you receive such calls, emails or text messages, please ignore them. These are examples of gift card fraud, where criminals trick victims into sending them gift cards online or reading the numbers on the back of a gift card over the phone. Fortunately, the different types of gift card scams are not too difficult to spot and avoid.
Here's an overview of some of the most common gift card scams and steps you can take to avoid falling for them. The thieves behind these scams rely on high pressure tactics to scare people into giving out gift cards. According to the Federal Trade Commission, scammers usually call, text or email victims to let them know they are having some kind of financial problem.
They may claim that victims haven't paid their taxes, are behind on their mortgage payments, owe hundreds of dollars in speeding tickets, or are behind on their utility bills. Scammers threaten to foreclose on their victims' homes, send them to jail or turn off their electricity if they don't pay.
How Gift Card Scams Work
The scammers then require victims to purchase a gift card and send them an electronic version of the card or provide them with the gift card number and PIN. Once they have this information, they will buy anything they want with the gift card and the victims will lose the money they spend on it.
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Scammers can try to trick you by phone, text or email with these seven common gift card scams. Learn how to recognize and avoid scams. In one of the most common gift card scams, a criminal calls you or sends you a text or email claiming to work for the IRS.
This scam says you owe back taxes and that the IRS will arrest you if you don't pay now. The offender says the gift card must be used to pay the taxes owed. When you buy gift cards - the scammer usually asks for gift cards from a specific retailer - you call the criminal back and read your gift card numbers and PINs.
The scammer then uses this information to purchase items online with the gift cards you purchased. Is there a gift here? First, the IRS will never call, text or email you about unpaid taxes. The IRS always sends you a letter with a phone number to call.
How Gift Card Scams Work
Second, the IRS will never threaten to send you to jail for back taxes. And finally, the IRS will never ask you to pay the taxes you owe on a gift card. Gift card fraudsters often use bots - software applications that perform automated actions online - to deplete unsuspecting users' gift card balances.
Fraudsters can use a bot called GiftGhostBot to probe retailers' online gift card balance checking systems. The robot searches this system for activated gift cards. If the bot finds it, criminals use the gift card number to make purchases themselves or sell the gift card information on the dark web.
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While using the card, you discover that the balance has been depleted and the gift card is worthless. One way to avoid this scam? Use your gift cards as soon as you receive them, so bots have less chance of finding your card information. Sometimes the store cashier is in on the scam.
Say you buy a gift card at a department store. The cashier might activate that gift card, but instead of giving it back to you, they'll exchange the card for one that hasn't been activated yet. The cashier then keeps the card activated and gives you a non-working card.
7 Common Types Of Gift Card Scams
The cashier can then use the activated card you purchased to make the purchase. The best way to avoid this scam? Follow the cashiers as they check you out. Make sure they return the gift cards to you as soon as the card is activated.
Another popular gift card scam? Thieves, often armed with a mastripe reader that reads numbers stored on magnetic strips on gift cards, grab handfuls of gift cards from stores like Walmart or Target. The thief scans the gift cards with a reader, recording dozens of card numbers.
The scammer hands the gift cards back out and leaves. Next, the fraudster calls the customer service numbers on those cards and enters the copied gift card numbers. This lets the fraudster know if someone has purchased and activated the gift card and how much is left on the card.
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The fraudster can then use the gift card number to make online purchases, draining the purchased card balance. Want to avoid this scam? Do not buy gift cards from publicly displayed shelves in retail stores. You may be tempted to buy gift cards from online auction sites.
7 Common Types Of Gift Card Scams
Don't do. Scammers often sell gift cards that have not been activated on these sites. You pay for the cards - thinking you're getting a deal because you're paying less than the face value of the card - only to find out the gift card doesn't work.
Other scammers lie about the value of the gift cards they sell online. They can claim the gift card is $50. You pay for the card, pick it up, and find out it only has $5 on it. Avoiding this scam is easy: never buy gift cards from an online auction site.
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 to be participating in a lottery or contest. This scam says you've won a trip, a new car or a cash prize.
However, you must first pay a redemption fee or redeem a gift card to claim your prize. The scammer asks you to buy a specific gift card, call back and read the card number and PIN over the phone. This is, of course, another scam.
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