With the holiday season comes more shopping, and with more shopping comes more fraud and scammers looking to take advantage of your holiday generosity.
Gift Card Drain
“Gift card drain” is a common scam that leaves gift card buyers with a zero balance despite having paid for the card. Many local and national law enforcement agencies have recently issued warnings about this type of fraud, noting that the holiday season is when people are increasingly targeted.
As USA Today previously reported, gift card drain occurs when scammers get physical copies of cards in stores. They manipulate gift cards using a reader to scan the number of an unpurchased card and record it. When that card is purchased and activated, they collect the loaded funds using the stolen number. Some have devices that allow them to change the silver scratch-off strip used to redeem the card, while others choose cards that come in envelopes so you can’t see that they’ve been scratched off until it’s too late.
Scammers may also pull gift cards off the shelves and move them elsewhere, swapping them out for other items as part of their scam. After gathering information from them, they then put the now-altered cards back on the shelves for people to buy and load with money.
Once the cards are drained, the buyer or recipient is left with an empty balance.
How to Protect Yourself
According to the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, here’s how to protect yourself from this type of fraud:
Ensure that the gift card is sealed and that the protective covering and the strip covering the PIN is intact.
Check that the gift card doesn’t appear to have been tampered with.
Keep your store receipt in case it’s found that the gift card you purchased was compromised.
If it’s found that the purchased gift card was compromised, report it immediately to the gift card company directly to request a freeze on the card and a refund.
Using Gift Cards as Cash
Traditional scams are still in play. It’s common for scammers to call or message you asking for you to pay any number of things via gift cards. To do this, the thief usually tells you which cards to buy (iTunes, Amazon, etc.) and for what amount, then asks you to scratch off the code and send them the numbers to redeem the card.
As many people sadly find out, you’re actually getting nothing in return for these “payments” via gift card. No matter what they tell you you’re paying with your gift card balance, it’s actually being used to profit an unscrupulous person.
How to Protect Yourself
According to the Federal Trade Commission, the general rule is: if someone contacts you, regardless of who they are, and asks you to pay by purchasing a gift card and sharing the numbers, it’s a scam.
Use the gift card and receipt from the gift card store to take the following steps if you have already provided a gift card number to someone:
Report the gift card scam to the gift card company immediately. No matter how long the fraud has been happening, report it. Use the list below on how to contact gift card companies.
Ask for your money back. Some companies help stop gift card fraud and may refund your money. It’s worth asking.
Tell the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Every report makes a difference.
Romance Scams
Romance scams are one of the most notorious gift card tricks. Scammers often target older adults or people who are not tech-savvy, establishing a relationship with the victim, convincing them that they’re in a romantic relationship with someone overseas or in a situation that prevents them from meeting the victim in person.
Upon
فكر في كيفية حماية نفسك من هذه الأنواع من الاحتيال.
كيفية حماية نفسك
لا تقدم أبدًا معلومات شخصية أو مالية لشخص يتصل بك أو يرسل لك رسالة، خاصةً إذا كنت لم تشترك في أي مسابقة أو قرعة. تحقق من المصدر واتصل بالجهة المعنية مباشرة إذا كنت غير متأكد.
كن حذرًا من أي رسالة تطلب منك دفع رسوم أو ضرائب لاستلام جائزة. إذا كانت الجائزة حقيقية، فسوف يتعين عليك دفع أي رسوم أو ضرائب من جيبك، وليس من الجائزة.
تذكر أنه إذا كان العرض يبدو جيدًا جدًا لدرجة يصعب تصديقها، فمن المحتمل أنه احتيال.
You may have “won” something bigger, like a car or a vacation. You are often encouraged to “claim” your prize by clicking on a link and paying a “redemption or claim fee.” Of course, these “fees” can only be paid via gift cards and do not give you access to any actual prizes.
How to Protect Yourself
The Federal Trade Commission says the simple rule to remember is to ask yourself if you have entered any sweepstakes or contests recently. If not, you haven’t won anything. Other ways to avoid prize scams:
Don’t pay to receive a prize. Real prizes are free. Anyone who asks you to pay “taxes” or “shipping and handling fees” or “processing fees” to get your prize is a scammer. Hang up and walk away.
Don’t provide your financial information. There’s no reason to give your bank account number or credit card number to claim a prize. If anyone asks for it, it’s a scam.
Don’t provide your personal information. Scammers hope you’ll click on links that will take your personal information or download malware to your device. Delete the message without clicking on the links and do not respond.
Buying Used Gift Cards
Gift card buyers this season are warned to look closely for manipulation before making a purchase.
Have you found someone selling used gift cards online at a discounted price? Do you see a child or someone else looking like a charity outside a store asking people to buy used gift cards at a “tempting” price? Have you signed up for a “savings club” that supposedly lowers the cost of purchasing a gift card?
While buying gift cards at a discount may seem like a great idea to save money on gifts during the holiday season, the old saying applies: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
No used gift cards sold can be verified or guaranteed to contain the advertised amount. They may be empty, have a balance lower than promised, may have already been used, or may not be real to begin with. In some cases, you might be enrolled in a “one-time discount” but are actually enrolled repeatedly and money is automatically deducted from your card, quickly surpassing the amount you “saved” through monthly fees.
How to Protect Yourself
Do not buy a used gift card from anyone, even if they look like a scout. The only safe place to buy a gift card is through an official channel, whether it’s the company’s website, the company store, or another trusted retailer.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: New gift card scams: “Card dumping” among many tricks this holiday season
Source: https://www.aol.com/gift-card-scams-2023-know-224540032.html
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