Scam artists are an inventive bunch and they are always thinking about new ways to rob people blind. A new scam making the rounds is a new batch of gift card cons and this brand new breed of rip-off is going around by text message.
Gift certificate scam at Target
The thing about fraud artists is that it's a pity they're crooks. If one takes a cursory look at the myriad tricks that criminals use to dupe people out of cash, it becomes kind of ironically clear that if they were to put that creativity to use for legitimate purposes, they'd probably get as prosperous as Croesus, lawfully and above board.
That will never occur.
At any rate, a brand new scam has been noticed going around, according to Daily Finance, a text scam involving gift cards. It isn't the first instance of gift certificate cons, by a long shot, but it's at least novel by criminal standards. Target gift cards of $1,000 or comparable large gift cards from major retailers like Walmart and Best Buy are generally offered.
Website requires code and phone number
The SMS phishing scam promises up to $1,000 or more on a gift card if an individual goes to a website and enters a code. This is all promised in a text.
What they actually get is their personal data taken and sold to black hat marketers in the form of an advertising list. If a person is lucky, they'll just get a rash of emails promising anything from cheap cruises to "Viagra" - one would make fun of spammers not being able to spell but then again our country's schools can't teach the difference between "they're" and "their" - and the curious submissions from "barnyardfun.com."
Scambook.com sent over 300,000 messages to people for the gift card con, according to Daily Finance, which might lead to class-action suits. There have already been 2 lawyers who have filled out suits against the business, according to NBC Los Angeles. We are not taking this sitting down.
Not nearly as bad as it could possibly be
This is just one of numerous gift certificate cons over the years, but that's a relatively mild one. For instance, according to WBAY, a Green Bay, Wisconsin, ABC affiliate, one con involves some pretty heinous credit card fraud. Fraudsters get a hold of a credit card number, then purchase a number of gift cards for large amounts, typically a few thousand dollars' worth. Scammers tell a cashier their charge card can't be swiped, so they have them enter the stolen number manually. Then they have the balance transferred to a prepaid debit card and withdraw the cash.
A cashier at Walmart named Erica Shontae was in on one con that stole $80,000. It was that exact fraud, according to MLive. She is waiting for her sentencing now.
Occasionally people will write down gift card numbers and keep checking the balance until the card is purchased. Then, they spend all the cash online, according to a 2011 Fox Business article.
Gift certificate scam at Target
The thing about fraud artists is that it's a pity they're crooks. If one takes a cursory look at the myriad tricks that criminals use to dupe people out of cash, it becomes kind of ironically clear that if they were to put that creativity to use for legitimate purposes, they'd probably get as prosperous as Croesus, lawfully and above board.
That will never occur.
At any rate, a brand new scam has been noticed going around, according to Daily Finance, a text scam involving gift cards. It isn't the first instance of gift certificate cons, by a long shot, but it's at least novel by criminal standards. Target gift cards of $1,000 or comparable large gift cards from major retailers like Walmart and Best Buy are generally offered.
Website requires code and phone number
The SMS phishing scam promises up to $1,000 or more on a gift card if an individual goes to a website and enters a code. This is all promised in a text.
What they actually get is their personal data taken and sold to black hat marketers in the form of an advertising list. If a person is lucky, they'll just get a rash of emails promising anything from cheap cruises to "Viagra" - one would make fun of spammers not being able to spell but then again our country's schools can't teach the difference between "they're" and "their" - and the curious submissions from "barnyardfun.com."
Scambook.com sent over 300,000 messages to people for the gift card con, according to Daily Finance, which might lead to class-action suits. There have already been 2 lawyers who have filled out suits against the business, according to NBC Los Angeles. We are not taking this sitting down.
Not nearly as bad as it could possibly be
This is just one of numerous gift certificate cons over the years, but that's a relatively mild one. For instance, according to WBAY, a Green Bay, Wisconsin, ABC affiliate, one con involves some pretty heinous credit card fraud. Fraudsters get a hold of a credit card number, then purchase a number of gift cards for large amounts, typically a few thousand dollars' worth. Scammers tell a cashier their charge card can't be swiped, so they have them enter the stolen number manually. Then they have the balance transferred to a prepaid debit card and withdraw the cash.
A cashier at Walmart named Erica Shontae was in on one con that stole $80,000. It was that exact fraud, according to MLive. She is waiting for her sentencing now.
Occasionally people will write down gift card numbers and keep checking the balance until the card is purchased. Then, they spend all the cash online, according to a 2011 Fox Business article.
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