Gift cards are a way to give someone you know some money. It is popular amongst the older generation, who would buy these cards and give them away to their grandchildren or someone they know personally. These cards are of particular value, and they come with various messages. So you can give someone a gift card of a specific valuation rather than giving them money. With festive seasons on the corner, many will rush towards it as a last-minute shopping gift.

Several companies offer Gift Cards; companies like Amazon, eBay, Google Play, and iTunes are a few renowned Gift Cards amongst the masses. Unfortunately, with the ease of sending money to your loved ones, this gift card is being preyed upon by gift card scams, with the scammers waiting to pounce on a moment’s notice.

What are Gift Card Frauds?

When a scammer impersonates a government official or relative, asking to pay the bill through a loaded card with money is called a Gift Card scam. As per the Federal Trade Commission, there has been a steady rise in these gift card scams during the festive periods.

Types of Gift Card Scams

We have compiled a list of gift card scams that scammers are known to indulge in. They carefully select victims and instill fear in them, and under emotional stress, and in that situation, without using logic, they end up giving in to scammers’ demands.

Call from the IRS

Scammers impersonate an Internal Revenue Service or IRS agent, a local courthouse, or someone from a government agency related to financial services. They will call their victims and convince them that they owe money to the government as they did not disclose the amount holding, so they have paid less tax.

Such statements instill fear in their victims, and they are made to believe that they will indeed have to pay fines and legal penalties since they are law-abiding citizens. With such mental breakdowns, the victims want to repay what they think belongs to the government. When they ask for advice, the scammers suggest they pay those penalties in Gift Cards.

Online Gift Card Hack

Customers and issuers can easily track each card’s funds and information because they are recorded in online databases. This feature is available for most online gift cards. But unfortunately, this feature is misused by scammers by hacking into the system and grabbing the details.

Some gift card scammers use automated bots to track these gift card movements. They will wait for the customer who has bought these online gift cards, and when they are about to use that gift card, these scammers will quickly type in all the details and transfer all the money on the gift card to their account. These are Gift card phishing scams.

Emails Requesting Gift Cards

It indicates the recurring email phishing scams. These email phishing frauds primarily depend on tactics like impersonation and social engineering to reach out to victims, further asking them to buy gift cards from them. The brain behind this fraud or the attacker employ authority and urgency when making their requests. They often impersonate esteemed and reliable persons in the society like Chairpersons, Deans, Department heads, etc as a role in their scam.

Gift Cards are available on Store racks

Gift cards that are displayed on the store racks attract customers. But unfortunately, these cards are open and are an open invitation for the scammers to swoop in the write-down code present on them and keep those gift cards on the rack. Once the card’s details are noted down, these scammers redeem those cards. Unfortunately, when someone buys those cards, they are not loaded with money. Thus, these victims are in no position to reclaim their lost money.

Gift Cards are available at a Discount

Scammers will open up a website and auction Gift Cards at a discount. Such cards are attractive to last-minute shoppers, especially during the festive season. But unfortunately, this is all a ruse; how can anyone sell a loaded Gift Card at a discounted rate? How do the website owners auctioning such cards make a profit? Well, these cards have no money; thus, when you buy such cards, you are paying a lot for something that has no value. These are fake gift cards.

Tech Support

Scammers impersonate tech support from companies from Microsoft, Apple, and so forth. After exchanging pleasantries, these “tech-support” agents will claim that your personal computer has been a target of a “cyber-attack,” and if they want to “clean up” their computer, they need the payment in the form of Gift Cards upfront.

Bogus prizes and vacations

Scammers will call or send an email stating they have won a grand prize or vacation. To collect these gifts, you must pay a small fee through Gift Cards to confirm your award. This is an age-old debit card scam that people do fall for even now. But instead of debit cards, scammers have replaced them with Gift Cards.

Insufficient funds and bad checks

Some scammers frequently issue checks that claim they have overpaid and that the remaining balance must be paid in gift cards. You will discover the check is flawed if you deposit it with the bank. Be wary of any cheques you get that you do not recognize. And never use your gift cards to pay them. This is also an online gift card fraud.

Helping out Relatives or Friends in a tight situation

Scammers will gather the information that you share on social media. They will collect all the required information and will use it against you. Then, they will call you and pretend to be your friend or a relative and need urgent assistance. These pretentious friends or relatives would usually be caught on the wrong side of the law due to some misunderstanding, and they want you to bail out by sending Gift Cards.

How does a Gift Card Scam Work?

Scammers use three tactics that will throw you off balance, and once you lose your footing, they will pick up your pieces and clean up your wallet.

• They will ask you to pay fines, penalties, services, or bills that you owe a government agency or a utility company. Such payments are to be sent across through Gift Scams.
• They discover the numbers on your Gift Card loaded with cash; before you can utilize them, they are being wiped and cleaned.
• Your distant relative or a friend might be caught on the wrong side of the law and urgently need money to bail out from this sticky situation by paying through Gift Cards.

What is a Scamming Card and How does Scamming cards work?

If you receive a call or text message from someone who asks you to compensate them using a gift card, it’s a scammer calling and scamming your card. Once they acquire your gift card details like the number associated with it and its PIN, they’ll have access to your money. Scammers are crafty and they frequently come up with distinct narratives to make you pay through your gift card, but more often than not, they will use an excuse or story that says that they urgently need that money.

How to spot a Gift Card Scam?

Scammers are obsessed that their victims should pay in terms of Gift Cards. We have laid down tactics that scammers employ.

• A phone call from a government agency, such as the Social Security Administration, the IRS, or a utility company, warns you that you must pay fines immediately or else.
• A call from tech support after they detect some malware or virus that has taken over your computer and needs immediate attention, or the computer will be corrupted beyond repair, and you will lose your sensitive data.
• After meeting someone special on a dating app that is a flight away from you, you will be interested in romantic talk. After a few days, they fall into trouble or require immediate money to pay medical bills. As you have guessed, they need money in the form of Gift Cards. And when you think of meeting that person, some weird reason might keep you from meeting that “special” person.
• Scammers pretending to be one of your friends or a family member, the law happens to catch them being on the wrong side of it. To bail out, they need your help, and yes, you need to pay them through Gift Card.
• You just won an exotic trip, a car, a house, or a massive sum of money, but you need to pay a certain amount through Gift Cards before claiming these prizes. Remember, these are email gift card scams.
• You are overpaid through a check that requires you to repay the excess through a Gift Card.

How to avoid a Gift Card Scam?

Although Gift Cards are a time saver and prove to be an excellent way to give a gift, these are misused by scammers. However, there is no harm in using a Gift Card as you can always use caution when you think you get calls like these.

• You must understand that a government official or anyone linked to the government will refrain from calling you on your number. They will generally send you mail at your postal address if there is any dispute. If you happen to get involved in a dispute, try contacting them through their official site, where contact details are mentioned. It is also critical to remember that these “officials” do not want any payments through Gift Cards.
• Utility companies are also professionals; if you get any email, text, phone, or mail at your postal address, contact them directly through their official website and not the ones provided by email, text, or phone. Remember, these officials would not entertain Gift Cards as a mode of payment as it breaches their trust. These are e-gift Card Fraud.
• While purchasing a Gift Card from a store, ensure that you avoid those available on the rack. Instead, approach the cashier and ask them to get on from their store; they have plenty of them stocked up behind the closed doors of the store.
• As you buy the card, ensure that the PIN on the card has not been scratched. If it is scratched, then it means that it has been used.
• Be cautious that no one happens to accidentally walk into you or come too close to you while buying a gift card; scammers are cunning; they might have a magstripe that will automatically scan the card’s ID number.
• Give your gift card details to just people you are confident with. Gift cards must always be utilized at the time of purchase, whether it is offline or online. The customer inputs their card number at the moment of purchase.
• If you receive the Gift Card from your relatives or loved ones, ensure that you use the card promptly well within the first nine months.
• Refrain from purchasing Gift Cards from any online auction for a discount.
• Avoid buying a single card or as a batch on eBay or Facebook marketplace.
• Avoid clicking on an email or text that opens doors for potential malware and identity theft. Ensure you do not open an email or click on a text with a link unknown to you.

How to get your money back from Gift Card Scams?

Using your Gift Card as soon as you get them as a gift is advisable. If you find that the card is not loaded, call the company that has issued the card; suppose you get a card from iTunes, and when you find out that the card is not loaded, then contact Apple and lodge a complaint with them. Refrain from throwing away the card; keep it and the receipt if you have bought them from a store.

You can also call your bank through which you have to purchase the gift cards and ask them to reverse the payment since the money withdrawn was unlawful.

Why is Morgan Financial Recovery a trusted name in Gift Card Scams Recovery?

Morgan Financial Recovery is one of the most reputed firms that excels in tracking down lost funds to scammers. We ensure that the only way to get justice for the victims is by helping them get their funds back. Hence, we allot some of the best resources and experts in resolving your case with the sort of legal support that can buy you a win-win recovery.

Why Choose us?

We are one of the renowned fund recovery agencies in the world. We rival the best in the industry.

• We are a global award winner, and our work has been appreciated by many worldwide.
• We have recovered over $3,000,000 from the scammers and retired it to their rightful owners.
• We have the latest technology at our fingertips that allows tracking down the culprits.
• We have substantial human resources to pursue the matter and legal know-how to bring justice and recover your money.