Woman tries to buy gift cards worth $200 — but an alert cashier sensed what was happening and saved her
After credit card fraud and email scams were exposed, criminals are using innovative ways to lure unsuspecting victims towards dubious schemes. With the holiday season in full swing, the Federal Trade Commission has warned that gift cards are one of the most common forms of payment being exploited for scams. Americans lose hundreds of millions of dollars every year to scammers who dupe them into transferring gift cards. Thanks to Amy, a vigilant cashier at a Fred Meyer store, a customer was saved from a gift card scam.
How the Elaborate Scam Works
Speaking to East Idaho News, Amy shared that she noticed the woman wandering around the store for about two hours. She said that the customer was on her phone the entire time, and when she first brought a $45 gift card to the counter, she didn't think much of it.
"I thought it could be for a kid or something," Amy said. She thought the customer was taking instructions from someone to get guidance on what to buy. However, when the woman brought more gift cards worth $200, Amy suspected something was wrong.
Amy requested the woman not to make the purchase telling her that it could be a scam. “At first she didn’t want to believe it. She said that she’d been on the phone with this person for almost three hours," Amy said. "And it was kind of scary," she added. The cashier then decided to speak to the scammer herself. Once she took the phone and questioned the caller, she realized that the caller wasn't giving her any straight answers. The scammer soon went quiet as Amy was sure that it was a scam and hung up the phone.
Amy then informed the shopper that it was a scam and she should not entertain any more calls from the person. The woman then contacted the Idaho Falls Police Department and praised Amy's actions, while revealing that the caller claimed to be a PayPal representative. The scammer told her that her account had overdrawn money and she needed to settle it immediately. The scammer directed her to drive to her nearest store and buy a Google Play gift to pay the debt.
The interviewer of the Feel Good Fridays show noted that the cashier Amy could have just made the sale and not bothered to help the woman, but she chose to do the right thing and stopped a scam. Amy then revealed that such incidents have happened in the past, which is why she knew how to identify a scam.
She said that some cashiers are only concerned with making a sale but her conscience urged her to intervene and help. She further hoped that the story would help raise awareness about such scams.
Rise of Gift Card Scams
The Federal Trade Commission received 50,000 reports of gift card fraud in 2022 leading to $228 million in losses. Further through September 2023, the Better Business Bureau and FTC reported a 50% increase in cases of gift card scams accounting for $147 million in losses, as per McCafee.
The favorite cards targeted by scammers include well-known brands such as Walmart, Target, Apple, Google, Amazon, Best Buy, and the Steam gaming platform. Criminals often pose as representatives of utility companies, the government, lottery officials, tech support, or even family members using deep fake technology to dupe victims.
They employ high-pressure tactics to trick victims into making quick transactions. Thus, as a general rule, consumers are advised not to use gift cards as modes of payment.
