Scammed

[quincy]

I've never had trouble managing my money ~ the problem is that my Bank of America credit cards have been replaced many times (and suddenly) because, as they told me at the time, there was the possibility that my card# had been gotten ahold of by someone illegally, so I would be sent new cards. So when i got this fake "social security" call, i automatically responded as before but in this case it wasn't a matter of credit cards but of my social security number, which is something very basic, so i became very worried, and my actions were based on that ...

Scammers can be clever. The trick is to recognize them for what they are.

NEVER give out your personal information to anyone over the phone unless YOU are the one who initiates the phone call and you know who you are talking to.

You will need to act fast to prevent the scammers from using the gift cards. Start now.

 

[Zigner]

Just as a side note - I recently had an older family member who needed to contact a financial institution, so he Googled their number and called the number from the first hit. When they started asking him to buy gift cards, he hung up the phone and called me. In this day and age, you have to be HYPER-vigilant.

 

[ajkroy]

The scammers used the cards seconds after she transferred the numbers to them. Lucky she only gave $1000 to them. OP, can you contact JCP and sell back the cards to them?

 

[quincy]

The scammers used the cards seconds after she transferred the numbers to them. Lucky she only gave $1000 to them. OP, can you contact JCP and sell back the cards to them?

JCP will replace cards.

 

[quincy]

Just as a side note - I recently had an older family member who needed to contact a financial institution, so he Googled their number and called the number from the first hit. When they started asking him to buy gift cards, he hung up the phone and called me. In this day and age, you have to be HYPER-vigilant.

After reading your post, I decided it would be wise to delete the phone numbers I provided earlier.

 

[Dandy Don]

You may also want to consider filing a report with your local police and also with your State Attorney General.

 

[Mass_Shyster]

Just as a side note - I recently had an older family member who needed to contact a financial institution, so he Googled their number and called the number from the first hit. When they started asking him to buy gift cards, he hung up the phone and called me. In this day and age, you have to be HYPER-vigilant.

My wife called the credit card company to dispute a charge. She misdialed and reversed two digits. A recording came on that sounded just like the credit card company and asked her to enter the card number. Then it asked for the expiration date. Then it asked for the 3 digits on the back of the card, then placed her on hold for the "next available operator", while they charged a few hundred dollars to her card.

 

[quincy]

I have run across several bogus websites that use the trademarks of legitimate companies in their domain names. I was unaware scammers were using phone numbers that closely mimicked the numbers of legitimate companies, though.

Scammers are becoming deviously clever.

I have always preferred to resolve matters in person rather than over the phone or on the internet.

 

[xylene]

Let's be honest. Social Security instructing people to buy Target gift cards? JC Penney gift cards?

Scammers are devious and warp people's thinking which is how something so preposterous ends up seeming reasonable.

These are no doubt stores chosen because of their very easy return policies that still allow returns for cash.

 

[quincy]

Let's be honest. Social Security instructing people to buy Target gift cards? JC Penney gift cards?

Scammers are devious and warp people's thinking which is how something so preposterous ends up seeming reasonable.

These are no doubt stores chosen because of their very easy return policies that still allow returns for cash.

If a returned item was paid for with a Target gift card, I am pretty sure the refund will be in the form of a gift card. I don't think Target provides cash refunds any more unless the returned item was paid for in cash. I don't know about JCP.

 

[ajkroy]

You can purchase other gift cards with Target gift cards. Buying Disney gift cards is a big one. There is no reason you couldn't purchase Visa/MC gift cards with Target gift cards. I don't know if it could be done online or not, but the scammers could always scam someone else to do it for them.

 

[quincy]

You can purchase other gift cards with Target gift cards. Buying Disney gift cards is a big one. There is no reason you couldn't purchase Visa/MC gift cards with Target gift cards. I don't know if it could be done online or not, but the scammers could always scam someone else to do it for them.

Target changed their gift card policies last year. You can no longer use a Target gift card to purchase other gift cards.

 

[xylene]

Buy baby formula or fone cards / minutes - whatever the underworld currency of easily fenced thing du jour is.

 

[quincy]

Buy baby formula or fone cards / minutes - whatever the underworld currency of easily fenced thing du jour is.

That would be the best way for a card thief to make use of stolen gift cards - but the one whose gift cards were stolen can prevent this use of the stolen cards by reporting the theft to the police and to the store(s) in question. The old cards will be canceled and replaced with new cards with new numbers. The stolen cards will be flagged and unusable at check out.

In Michigan, there was a problem with postal workers stealing mailed gift cards. The FBI and card issuers collaborated and sent "marked cards" through the mail. When these marked cards were used at the stores, the thieving postal workers were detained, arrested, charged and convicted on federal mail-theft crimes.