Gift card scam
Gift card scammers often pose as religious leaders to get worshipers to disclose important financial information such as Personal Identification Numbers (PIN). (Photo Courtesy of Desert Southwest Conference).
The holiday season sparks generosity from many, especially churchgoers. Unfortunately, criminals are taking advantage of people's generous impulses to pull off what's becoming known as a "gift card scam."
The most recent newsletter of the Desert Southwest Annual Conference reported:
"Please inform your congregation about another type of holiday scam to watch out for. People are posing as clergy or representatives from a church and asking people to buy gift cards for charity and respond with the gift card number and PIN to cash it in. The scam has impersonated Desert Southwest Conference churches already by email and text. According to the Federal Trade Commission, the scam isn’t limited to email and text messages. Sometimes people become victims of this scam because of a phone call.
"Clergy tip: Scammers are collecting phone numbers and emails from church newsletters. Consider removing that information from future newsletters and removing that information from archived newsletters on your church website."
If you or someone you know paid a scammer with a gift card, report it as soon as possible. Call the card company and tell them the gift card was used in a scam. Here is contact information for some of the gift card companies that scammers use most often. Then, tell the FTC about it at ftc.gov/complaint. Your reports may help law enforcement agencies launch investigations that could stop imposters and other fraudsters in their tracks.
In an article for the Federal Trade Commission earlier this year, consumer education specialist Colleen Tressler described how worshipers are being targeted by the "gift card scam."
"We’re seeing a new spin on gift card scams. This time, scammers are pretending to be a pastor, rabbi, priest, imam, or bishop. They’re asking worshipers for gift card contributions for a worthy cause. Appeals are often made by email, but we’ve heard people are also getting texts and phone calls, too.
"The bogus emails often include the name of the local pastor and a legitimate looking email address. But a closer look should raise some red flags. For example, the email address isn’t the one normally used by the church, and the service provider is different, too. The message may begin with a simple 'Hi,' but doesn’t include a recipients’ name. There also may be spelling errors, including the pastor’s name.
"The imposter asks you to buy a popular gift card — frequently, iTunes, Google Play, or Amazon — and then asks for the gift card number and PIN on the back of the card. Those numbers let the scammer immediately get the money you loaded onto the card. And once that’s done, the scammer and your money are gone, usually without a trace.
"If you or someone you know paid a scammer with a gift card, report it as soon as possible. Call the card company and tell them the gift card was used in a scam. Here is contact information for some of the gift card companies that scammers use most often. Then, tell the FTC about it at ftc.gov/complaint. Your reports may help law enforcement agencies launch investigations that could stop imposters and other fraudsters in their tracks."
How to report gift card scams
Amazon
- Call 1 (888) 280-4331
- Learn about Amazon gift card scams here.
Google Play
- Call 1 (855) 466-4438
- Report gift card scams online here.
- Learn about Google Play gift card scams here.
iTunes
- Call Apple Support at 1 (800) 275-2273, then say “gift card” to be connected to a live representative.
- Learn about iTunes gift card scams and how to report them here.
Steam
- If you have a Steam account, you can report gift card scams online here.
- Learn about Steam gift card scams here.
MoneyPak
- Call 1 (866) 795-7969
- Report a MoneyPak card scam online here
This article was compiled from reports by the Desert Southwest Annual Conference and the Federal Trade Commission.