Gift card scams continue to rise worldwide, with an increasing number of people using the digital asset for various purposes. It is common knowledge that you can use these prepaid cards to shop conveniently at designated stores or perhaps sell them. But there are also gift card scammers using them as a vehicle for fraud. Therefore, knowing how to spot gift card scammers is important to stay safe.
Who Is A Gift Card Scammer?
A gift card scammer is an individual who uses gift card-related schemes to defraud people. These malicious entities pose a cyber threat by targeting gift card users to steal their funds.
Although there are different kinds of gift card scams that these fraudsters adopt, what is common to all is the loss of funds. That is why knowing how gift card scammers work is important.
Common Tricks Used By Gift Card Scammers
1. Demand For Gift Card Payment
This type of gift card scam starts with someone pretending to be a business entity to sell certain products to you in exchange for a gift card. They often ask for popular card brands like Apple, Amazon, Google Play, or Steam.
Here, the scammer may speak to you via phone call or messages, encouraging you to buy the gift card immediately to afford the purported product.
The scammer will request the card information, and once this is done, your fund is gone.
2. Fake Gift Cards
There are many fraudulent entities disguised as gift card vendors for users. They are on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
They can even have a fake website to con people into their scheme.
Scammers offer to sell gift cards of high value at a low price – making it to be a “too good to be true” instance. But these cards are either fake or stolen. Therefore, you may lose your funds when buying from such an entity.
3. Gift Card Generators
There is a norm of gift card generators across the internet. These generators can be a website or a mobile app, allowing you to generate redeemable gift card codes at departmental stores or online retailers.
As such, these generators can secretly collect your vital information, such as your credit card number, which can be used for fraudulent purchases later.
In addition, these generators can introduce malware to the operating system of your device to make it vulnerable to more malicious behaviors.
4. Stolen Codes
Scammers can go to gift card stores to write the codes of physical cards while waiting for unsuspecting customers to buy and activate them. Upon activation, these scammers can use the stolen gift card codes to buy products from the store.
Safety Tips Against Gift Card Scammers
1. Don’t Provide Personal Information To Unsolicited Messages or Calls
It should be noted that reputable businesses will not request gift cards as a payment method. This means you will not have to divulge your vital information that may put your funds at risk.
2. Check For Tampering
Ensure to carefully check the gift card packaging for possible tampering before purchase. You must avoid buying the ones that are not well packaged because the codes might have been stolen.
3. Trade Gift Card On Reliable Platforms
You can buy and sell your gift card on different platforms. But it would help to do your due diligence by trading your card with a trusted platform to avoid gift card scams.
Prestmit is one of the best gift card trading platforms in Nigeria. Therefore, you are safe, and your funds are secure when you trade on the platform.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What Does A Scammer Do With Gift Cards?
Scammers can use gift cards to buy cryptocurrency – converting them to untraceable funds. They can also redeem the cards for products at their supported stores.
How Can I Recover My Funds From Gift Card Scammers?
You must contact the gift card company on time for a possible refund. This is if the funds are frozen, or scammers have not used the stolen cards. However, recovering your funds after the card has been redeemed is difficult.
How Can I Identify Gift Card Scammers?
You can identify gift card scammers through schemes like requesting gift cards as payment methods. So, ensure to avoid such offers in exchange for products.
In addition, be wary of too-attractive rates that may tempt you to buy from channels like social media platforms or fake websites. When it is too good to be true, it probably is.
How Can I Know A Fake Gift Card?
You can know a fake gift card by comparing the picture (if it is a physical card) with what is available on the brand/platform that issues the card. Also, you can enter the card code on the issuer’s platform to check its authenticity.
In addition, checking the gift card balance enables you to know if the card you are holding is fake or not. This is made possible by most brands.
Conclusion
Some malicious entities, including gift card scams, constantly deploy dubious strategies to steal people’s funds. As these cards give you the leverage to pay for products at international stores, scammers exploit them for fraudulent gains.
Therefore, it is important to understand the tricks of these scammers to keep your funds safe.
