Inspect gift cards before you buy them and look for signs the packaging might have been compromised.Of course, you'd email the E-code to the niece - who is the scammer. Somehow, the so-called friend would repay the money but needed that card now because her own account wasn't working. Someone else who responded reported later that the second email asked for just $300 via an E-Code Amazon gift card for a niece who has a birthday but is dealing with cancer. Gift cards make great presents for loved ones, but they cannot be used to pay taxes.'Įarly in November, I received one phishing email from scammers, designed to look like it was from a former co-worker, saying: 'I Hope this email finds you well, Do you order stuff online on amazon or have an account with Amazon?' The IRS warned that scammers 'may also use a compromised email account to send emails requesting gift card purchases for friends, family or co-workers. Watch those emails from friends and relatives, too Scammers also pretend to be from Social Security and warn about a problem and then request gift cards to fix the issue. Or they might demand gift cards if pretending to be from a utility company and threaten to shut off your heat or electricity.Įven during the holiday season, the IRS issued an alert about scammers who are targeting taxpayers by asking them to pay a fake tax bill with gift cards. The Better Business Bureau Serving Eastern Michigan said it has received complaints from one consumer who was contacted and told they won a sweepstakes and all they had to do was purchase four gift cards and send them to pay the processing fee.Īnother consumer was searching for a new job but then was asked to purchase a gift card to pay for office supplies.

Buy walmart gift card with google pay