Gift cards may be used for a variety of reasons, such as birthday and holiday gifts, but they may also present an avenue for scammers to take advantage of unsuspecting individuals.
Gift card scams generally involve deceptive tactics where scammers trick people into purchasing gift cards and then have them share the card details or PIN. Typically, these scammers impersonate authority figures, relatives in distress, or service providers, coercing victims into believing they need to buy gift cards as payments or solutions to fabricated problems. Once scammers obtain the card details, they can swiftly drain the funds, leaving victims financially compromised.
This guide will dive into how gift card scams may work and potential ways to avoid them.
While gift card scams can vary widely depending on a scammer’s approach, here’s how they typically work:1
Gift card scams are among some of the most common scams because they provide fraudsters with an anonymous and untraceable method for stealing funds.
Once they receive gift card details, scammers can quickly convert them into cash or make online purchases. Because gift cards typically don’t store or link to personal information, scammers can easily evade detection.
Here are some potential ways people can spot and protect themselves from gift card scams:
If a person suspects that they have been a target of a gift card scam, here are some next steps they could take:
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