GREENSBORO, N.C. — There's like a 90% chance you bought a gift card in the last year or you got one. Buying and using gift cards is almost more common than using cash, which is why the scammers ask for payment by gift card.
You're asking yourself, why would I ever pay a scammer? The answer is, you don't think it's a scam.
Scammers pretend to be your power company, the water company, the IRS, your local sheriff's office, Amazon, and even the post office. They convince you that you have to take action and you have to pay a bill, a fine, whatever. And they say you have to pay by gift card.
“Here's the number one way to protect yourself from gift card scams, gift cards are meant to be given as gifts, period. If someone says they want to be paid by gift cards, they are a scammer, regardless of the scenario,” said Lechelle Yates of the Better Business Bureau.
Scammers use gift card payments because once you give them the number on the back, the money is out of your hands and in theirs. The money is untraceable and not refundable.
Don't miss this, gift card scams aren't just for fake phone calls or texts. Watch out for them when buying items online from sellers you don’t know.
“This happens a lot with pet scams. A lot of times people who are selling puppies want to be paid some sort of currency besides a credit card,” said Yates.
Whenever you're in doubt, always remember the number one rule of gift cards:
gift cards are for gifts only, never as a payment.