scams paying with amazon cards for fake id

Sometimes, the crook will stay on the phone with the victim as they go to the store and buy the card. This can be done by phone call, text or email. When a fraudulent caller convinces someone to pay this way, the victim is told to go to a store, purchase an iTunes gift card, load money onto it and then provide the 16-digit code on the back of the card. Should you receive a request for payment using iTunes Gift Cards outside of iTunes and the App Store please report it at ftc.gov/complaint. “Any call requesting taxpayers place funds on an iTunes gift cards or other prepaid cards to pay taxes or fees is an indicator or fraudulent activity!” the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration cautioned.Īpple is aware of the problem and has posted this warning notice on the gift card section of its website : “iTunes Gift Cards are solely for the purchase of goods and services on the iTunes Store and App Store. Treasury Department recently issued a scam alert saying that callers impersonating IRS employees or pretending to be with the Treasury Department are demanding payments on iTunes gift cards.

Read More: Phone Fraud Gets Harder as FTC Bans Payment Methods Favored by Crooks These include phony debt collectors, callers who pretend to be family members in need of money to handle an emergency, and fake IRS agents. Payments via iTunes gift cards are being used to commit various types of phone scams, according to a recent warning on the FTC website. “iTunes is certainly a recognized name, but many people don’t understand how it works, and that’s what the scammers are counting on.” “We’ve noticed a real spike in complaints and consumer losses related to iTunes gift cards,” said Karen Hobbs, a senior attorney at the Federal Trade Commission. Right now, the popular iTunes gift card is the payment method of choice for many swindlers. And even if the victim realizes they’ve been scammed, there’s typically no way to reverse the transaction. Everyone likes gift cards - even scammers.Ī gift card is like cash - a quick, convenient and untraceable way for con artists to get money.

Scams paying with amazon cards for fake id