Study finds gift cards are a tool for scammers
Written by Better Business Bureau of NY, LI and the Mid-Hudson Regionand
Since 2015, 332 scams reported to the BBB Serving Metro New York have indicated that the scammer requested payment through gift cards or reloadable cards; and 98 of these scams have been reported to BBB Metro NY since January 2020. Consumers should view a request for payment by gift card as a warning sign. A new BBB study shows that gift cards are increasingly popular as a payment method for scams.
“Transactions that request payment by gift card are almost always scams,” said Claire Rosenzweig, President and CEO of the BBB Serving Metro New York. “Gift cards don’t carry the same protections as credit or debit cards, so gift card payments are funds you can’t get back.”