Talk to your parents - gift card scams are back

[Anonymous]

If your parents use the internet, please talk to them about internet scams.

Tell them to ignore any scary pop ups or emails and talk to you immediately. If they have any memory loss, put a note by their computer.

The gift card scams had decreased but seem to be back. They will also tell your loved one to drain their bank account and the banks don’t take any precautions about preventing these scams, they just hand over the money with a puzzled look instead of explicitly explaining that these scams exist or suggesting they call a loved one to discuss first.

Scammers are good at taking advantage of anxiety and ramp it up even more so your smart and capable parent is not immune.

And if this happens to them, call the store that issued the gift cards immediately because they can report them as stolen and it might help them get their money back.

We assumed this was an international scam but have enough information now to know that it wasn’t. So don’t assume you can’t press charges either. Report to the police and the FTC.