How do scammers rip off Walmart gift card holders? Fraud prevention techniques

Walmart is the top retailer in the world, with 240 million customers going into their stores every week, and many more shopping online. With such a big number of potential victims to choose from, scammers have targeted the store’s clients with different schemes, some of which involve gift cards. They target these cards because they are difficult to trace once they are sent out. If scammers are able to get hold of your gift card number, they can use up your balance online before you are even aware of what happened.

Here are some schemes you should be careful of and report to authorities.

Fake Walmart gift card balance-checking websites

You may come across a website with a Walmart logo pretending to be a page where you can check your gift card’s balance. Once you put in your numbers, they will check the balance on the real website and tell you what it is to avoid suspicion. However, they will already have your card details for them to use.

To avoid being scammed in this manner, always check that you are only on a secure walmart.com website. It’s also good practice to never give gift card numbers or PINs to anyone online.

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Pretending to be from a government agency

Some fraudsters pretend to be a government office like the IRS or the FBI. They could call to say that you owe taxes or even that there’s an arrest warrant for you for tax evasion or some other made-up crime. The scammers are banking on the panic this will create for you to act as they wish. They will ask you to send payment in Walmart gift cards and keep you on the line while you buy them and give them the numbers.

You can avoid being duped this way by remembering that these government agencies will not call you about such issues. If you receive a call like this, ask for the person’s name and extension number and call back using the office’s official number.

Pretending to be tech support

Scammers can also pretend that they are from tech support of companies like Apple or Netflix, asking you for remote access to your devices because they have detected malware or some other problem. They will then request that you send your payment in gift cards for services rendered.

Remember that legitimate companies will not ask to be paid in gift cards.

The ‘loved-one-is-in-trouble’ call or email

A swindler can pretend to be a lawyer, a person who kidnapped the loved one, or the loved one themselves, to say they they are in trouble and need immediate payment. They will then ask for gift cards to settle the problem.

When this happens, hang up and call your loved one directly and immediately.

Numbers to call

If you suspect that you have been a victim of a scam involving gift cards, you may get in touch with the following:

Gift card scam- Report to the Federal Trade Commission

Walmart gift card scam- Walmart (888) 537-5503

IRS- Forward suspicious emails to the IRS at phishing@irs.gov