|
CROMWELL, Conn. — Today's scammers want gift cards as payment, leaving those unaware of this tactic vulnerable to schemes designed to commit fraud. Better Business Bureau (BBB) research shows fraud reports to BBB Scam Tracker involving gift cards as a form of payment spiked in the first three quarters of 2023, up 50% from the same period the year prior. Scammers have doubled down on gift cards as a method to steal money from consumers – especially online shoppers – leading retailers to implement new fraud prevention solutions in response.
A new BBB study update, “Growth of gift card scams causes retailers to innovate solutions," examines patterns of reports, dives deep into court documents, reviews financial losses, and highlights interviews with affected consumers. The goal is to educate everyone on the tactics scammers use with gift cards.
Since 2020, there have been about 4,000 BBB Scam Tracker reports filed along with more than 177,000 reports to the Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Sentinel Network with $690 million in losses.
In Connecticut, we've received reports of gift cards being used for payment in a variety of scam types, including romance, tech support, imposter, and online purchase.
When Kia, a single mother in New London, made plans for an outing with her children she did an internet search for cheap car rentals. She told BBB the price was right, but when she called the number the agent told her she needed to use a prepaid card to finalize the purchase.
"Thru the whole transaction the person (agent) stood on the phone with me and I had to go to the store and purchase this card," she wrote in her Scam Tracker report.
After giving the agent the information on the back of the gift card, she says the person hung up, and the phone number was no longer in service.
"That one call changed things so pls be very cautious no matter what the situation," she stated.
That same phone number was used to dupe a 74-year-old Connecticut resident who tried to call Enterprise Car Rental when she was stranded on the side of the road.
"I was informed to go to Walmart get an American Express gift card put $260 on it for the rental car," she reported to BBB.
After her car was restarted, she canceled the rental and says she was told the money would be returned to the card. Ten months later, she is still waiting and says the number is no longer in service."
Another Connecticut resident used BBB's Scam Tracker to warn others about a scam involving social media:
"Contacted phone number for Facebook to resolve an issue. They answered the phone with “Facebook." They told me to purchase Google Play cards. I did. Then they said they needed to refund the purchase price of the cards BUT I had to buy $100 more in cards. I refused. They got $200 but I wasn’t buying into this scam anymore," one Waterbury resident reported to BBB Scam Tracker.
Another Waterbury resident said he was asked by someone he thought worked for his utility company to use a gift card to pay to have his electricity turned on.
* Please contact BBB Serving CT to set up an interview with a victim of a gift card payment scam.
|
