Typically, victims usually receive a scam call designed to panic into them to act fast and think later - the call could be a fraudster pretending to be from HMRC, your bank or utility company telling you that you owe money or have been the victim of fraud, for example.
The caller then asks you to make a payment by purchasing a gift card. After buying the gift card, you’re asked to pay by sharing the code on the back of the card with the caller over the phone.
Read on to find out about different types of gift card scams so you know what to watch out for.
Impersonation scams
Fraudsters hack email accounts and send emails asking the recipient to buy them a gift card for a made-up reason. Usually, this reason is emotional or there's a sense of urgency around it. The sender may claim to be a friend or family member.
‘I was caught off guard on a Sunday and sent a £200 Apple e-voucher to what I thought was the niece's email,’ Chrissi explained.
Once Chrissi had purchased the gift card, her ‘friend’ kept emailing to say it hadn’t arrived yet. ‘Overnight those warning bells rang and I checked the emails again to find, this time, they were highlighted as possible spam’, she added.
Fortunately, Chrissi’s payment was declined but as a precaution, they called their credit card provider and cancelled the credit card used. She changed her email password and reported the scam to Action Fraud and Which?
Fake reviews
Free gift cards and fake competitions
Fraudsters send emails and texts or create social media posts and ads promoting non-existent gift cards at well-known retailers.
These lead to phishing websites where you’re sometimes asked to fill in a survey - giving away data that could be used to scam you at a later date. Typically, these scams end with you paying a small fee to have the card delivered and parting with your financial information in the process.
In one example Which? came across, an email promoted a chance to win an Amazon gift card worth £1000. It went on to ask for your first and name, email, date of birth, postcode and mobile number, telling you that prize winners will be contacted by telephone.
Purchase scams
When buying something online, be suspicious of items which you can pay for using a gift card as this could be another way for scammers to obtain gift cards and make off with the money.
Amazon warns of vehicle purchase scams where vehicles are listed for sale online at too good to be true prices by a seller who claims they need to sell the item quickly. They usually cite life reasons including moving home soon or being called for military service. The seller then asks you to make a payment using Amazon Gift Cards.
If you’re selling something online, a scammer may also ask to pay for your item using a gift card.
Avoiding and reporting gift card scams
Any competitions, messages or calls you receive or come across promoting or asking you to buy gift cards, should be verified by checking the brand’s official website and social media accounts.
If someone you don’t know or trust asks for the details on the back of a gift card, don’t give it to them as this will allow them to spend the money on the card. They can also do this if you share links received via e-mail for electronic gift cards.
source https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/be-aware-of-gift-card-scams-this-christmas-adgTA4x2c7X6