County resident loses $6,000 in gift cards scam
News | Published on February 13, 2024 at 3:59pm GMT+0000 | Author: Tucker Henderson
0Sheriff’s Office reminds residents to be wary of potential scam calls
By Tom Hintgen
Otter Tail County Correspondent
A county resident, address not released to the news media, was scammed and lost $6,000, according to sheriff deputies on Feb. 8.
The scam victim bought $6,000 in gift cards and sent the codes to a person she thought was trying to fix her computer. Once the numbers are provided to those committing illegal acts, the money is gone and cannot be recovered by the scam victims.
“These scams happen all too often,” said a sheriff deputy. “Not long ago a man in Otter Tail County, who believed his uncle’s Facebook account was hacked, was blackmailed into providing gift card numbers, two cards worth $200 each.”
Gift card scams occur when fraudsters trick a person into buying gift cards or prepaid cards and share the information on the backs of the cards. Scammers want gift cards because they are easy to purchase, nearly impossible to trace or refund and can be treated as cash.
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) reports that the average consumer victim loses $700 to this type of scam, with elderly people losing the most money.