Gift card scams are on the rise and people are still falling for them. Americans wasted over $148 million on gift card scams in just the first nine months of 2021. Gift cards are not traceable, making them an easy way to pull off a scam with little chance of getting caught.
New scams include people calling impersonating the Attorney General saying that a dire situation can only be resolved with the purchase of gift cards and giving the card information to the caller.
Attorney General Dana Nessel said, “Remember, gift cards are for gifting, not for paying people. If someone asks for payment using a gift card from Amazon, Target or some other store, it’s a scam. Hang up or delete the message.”
Nessel is also investigating another trend where fraudulent callers are pretending to be representatives from AT&T or DirecTV and offering a discount if money is paid upfront with a pre-paid card.
Nessel said, “If you receive a call offering you a massive discount on DirecTV services, consider the possibility it’s a scam.”
More information can be found at the link below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ax8wrdgQqkU
Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland
