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Giftcard scam

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TheGoodWife

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law) Wisconsin

My husband fell victim to a giftcard scam after finding fraudulent charges on his debit. The bank refused to dispute the charges for him and told him to take care of calling Apple himself so he did. Their number didn’t work so he googled it and accidentally called the one from an ad, not the actual website for Apple support and unbeknownst to him it was a scam. They made him buy several hundred dollars worth of giftcards and told him he would be reimbursed on the card (I know, I know).

So I know there’s no way we are getting that money back from the scammers but I wonder if we have any legal recourse, because the bank told him to handle it himself ... and the fraudulent charges were a result of a utility payment portal from our city getting hacked. He would have never had to call support if not for the bank or utility company setting him on this path. He has very bad anxiety and was solely focused on getting his money back so it didn’t seem scammy to him until it was too late. Even so, if the pay portal from our utility bill wasn’t hacked this would have never happened. Can we take them to small claims court citing that they are responsible (utility company) because their mess caused panic or the bank is responsible for not doing their job and disputing the charge?

Thank you.
 


FlyingRon

Senior Member
The first thing your husband should do is call the bank up and cancel the debit card. He's apparently ill-equipped to safely use it. A credit card gives far better protection (and they wouldn't tell you to go deal with protests on your own).

While you may get some traction on the original invalid charges by arguing the bank or the utility has some responsibility, your husband falling for scams is NOT their fault even if you allege that it was consequential to them not helping him to start with.
 

HRZ

Senior Member
It is ultra likely he has no practical leverage to recover a dime ...it may make sense to file a police report as to the white collar theft by deception involved but seeing a dime of recovery is unlikely ...

But get rid of debit card and use a safer payment method.
 

adjusterjack

Senior Member
The bank has no liability.

The utility company has no liability.

Your husband gave the money to a scammer. There's no one else to blame, except the scammer but you can't get to, or get anything, from the scammer.
 

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