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Discover WeStreet in Spanish: a space created especially for you. Our website in Spanish offers financial education and details about our products and services.
westreet españolGift cards are a great gift to give and to receive during the holidays! It is a chance to get exactly what you want, and that can be very special. What’s not so great about gift cards is that scammers can try to use them to take the available balance on gift cards and leave you with nothing. Coming to understand how to recognize and avoid these scams will help prevent you from becoming a victim yourself.
As you would expect, there are many forms that gift card scams can take, normally involving a variety of gift cards and preying on the emotions and processing of a person who is purchasing a gift card. Here are a few different scenarios you may encounter with gift cards:
The Tax Evasion Scare: A target receives a threatening email, text, or phone call from someone impersonating an IRS authority. The scammers scare the target into thinking they must make a payment in the form of a gift card because they are at risk of being arrested for tax evasion.
Remember, the IRS never corresponds with people through text, email, or phone, only through the standard US postal service. Also keep in mind that if any government agency or business requests payment using a gift card, it is almost certainly a scam.
Tech Support Error: In this scam, the target receives a call from a scammer impersonating a tech support employee from a company like Microsoft or Apple. The target is told that there is something wrong with their account and the person on the other end of the line is willing to help them fix the problem for a small fee, which must be paid with a gift card.
Luckily, there is actually no problem with your account or computer, and you shouldn’t pay anything. Again, no business will ask for payment with a gift card, so if anyone insists on having you make a payment that way, know that you are most likely the target of a scam.
The Needy Romance: The target has a new prospective partner that they match with on an online dating website. After speaking together online for a while, this prospective partner winds up in a financial situation and asks the target to provide them with some money in the form of a gift card to help them. Unfortunately, this usually means that they only want the target’s money and aren’t in the dating mood after all.
The Sweepstakes Winner: The target receives exciting news! They have won a vacation to a luxury hotel on the beach. All that is required is for them to pay a small processing fee using a gift card.
Unfortunately, this contest is fake, and the target will lose any any money paid this way. It’s always good to remember that if you never entered a contest, then there is no way you would win one.
The Utility Scare: A target receives a phone call or text message telling them that their gas and electricity will soon be cut off if they don’t pay a fee or outstanding bill. Utility companies usually give you more notice, and you will be contacted about your unpaid bills multiple times before your utilities are disconnected.
If you check your account and are up to date on payments and haven’t received any other notices, your utilities are probably fine. Instead, you are being scammed and asked for more gift card money.
If you are worried that your utilities may be disconnected, contact your utiliity provider. They can tell you if the message you received is legitimate or a scam. If it is legitimate and they are planning to turn your utilities off, you can often work with the company to set up a payment plan and avoid going without electricity or gas.
The Discounted Gift Card: A target finds a great deal online: discounted gift cards! They purchase the card and once they have received it will then receive a call asking for the target to read the identification number over the phone to confirm the gift card’s balance. If the target agrees and reads the identification number, the scammer will immediately drain the balance of the gift card, and the target will be left with a useless chunk of plastic.
As we go through these common scenarios, you may notice that many of these scams have similar characteristics:
If you spot any of these red flags when you purchase a gift card or are considering it, do not move forward with the process. Always keep gift card information to yourself and know that most businesses and people do not accept gift cards as a valid form of payment.
Gift cards should be used for purchases at a specific business or sent as a gift. They are not intended to be used as a form of general payment for a service or bill. As with all card identification numbers, they should never be shared online or over the phone, unless you are making a payment.
When you purchase gift cards, make sure the seller is reputable. Be extremely skeptical of any place that claims to offer discounted gift cards as this is more than likely a scam.
If you have been unfortunate enough to fall prey to a gift card scam, don’t give up. There are steps you can take to mitigate the damage done and help sellers and other customers prevent future scams.
The first thing to do is contact the seller or company where you purchased the gift card. Share with them what happened to you and have your gift card and receipt ready to show or read off to them if they ask for it. This brings the issue to their attention, and they can help to prevent it from happening again.
If you continue to hear from the scammer or receive similar messages to the one that got you into trouble, block the number or email and use the report option on your phone to report it—mark emails as spam.
Another thing you can do is report the fraudulent activity to the FTC online. This helps them determine where common scams are happening and take more action to prevent future scams and inform others about what to be aware of!
This article is for educational purposes only. WeStreet makes no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, or specific suitability of any information presented. Information provided should not be relied on or interpreted as legal, tax or financial advice. Nor does the information directly relate to our products and/or services terms and conditions.
