Scam Alert Saturday!

“According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), at least $212 million was stolen through gift card-related scams in 2024”

In some cases, criminals will actually spend the gift cards before they are purchased. They’ll steal cards sitting in store racks, record the numbers and PINs, then reseal and replace the cards. When someone buys and activates the card, they swiftly drain the value. A survey showed that 25% of consumers have either given or received a $0 gift card.

In addition, many scams prefer gift cards as a payment. “Whether pretending to be a seller online or an official notifying you of a supposed debt, they’ll ask you to buy gift cards and read them the serial and personal identification numbers (PIN) on the back of the cards.”

“Scammers may pretend to be from the IRS, for example, and say you owe money that can be paid with a gift card. This is a scam, says Pitt: ‘No legitimate government agency will ever accept payment in the form of a gift card.’”

Read more about this common holiday scam here: https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/gift-card/