12/12/2023
Be careful! Itโs happening more & more these days!
๐จ ๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐บ ๐๐น๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐จ
One of the most common types of gift card scams is when a scammer contacts a victim about an urgent situation and tricks them into buying gift cards and sharing the card details to resolve it. Oftentimes, the scammers impersonate authority figures, relatives or service providers, and say that you need to pay them immediately or something bad will happen.
Here are a few examples of this type of gift scam:
๐จ Scammers pretend to be from a government organization, such as the IRS or the Social Security Administration, and claim you owe money or else you'll be arrested.
๐จ Scammers might pose as a family member or close friend and claim that they are in an emergency and need some money.
๐จ Scammers will contact you and say that you've won a prize, often a large sum of money or a vacation, but tell you to pay a fee to claim it.
๐จ Scammers may pretend to be tech support from a large company and will say they can fix your computer if you pay them in gift cards.
๐จ Scammers say that they're from your utility company and threaten to cut off service if you don't pay them.
The scammers will tell the victims what kind of card to purchase and then have them share the numbers and PINs off the back of the cards. With the card details, the scammers can then immediately drain the money loaded on the cards.
While scammers will always try to create a sense of urgency, if you receive a similar message, take a deep breath and think about how you can verify the situation, such as calling the family member they claim to be. If you need assistance verifying beyond that please reach out to our Criminal Investigations Division 863-773-0304 BEFORE you purchase the cards.
