Newspaper Page Text
The True Citizen, Wednesday, March 24, 2021 — Page 7
® FOR THE RECORD
Gift cards are
a popular tool for scammers
KELVIN COLLINS
Gift cards have become a
multibillion-dollar industry,
a gift that always fits and
stands up to social distancing.
Worldwide, consumers spent
billions on gift cards last year.
However, that total comes with
an asterisk -- it includes the
gift cards on which scammers
increasingly rely to extract pay
ment from their victims.
An in-depth investigative
study by Better Business Bu
reau (BBB) finds an increase in
reports of scams involving gift
cards, with hundreds of mil
lions of dollars in losses over
the last few years. The study
— Gift Card Payment Scams:
BBB Reveals Why Scammers
Love Gift Cards — looks at the
scope of fraud involving gift
cards as a payment method,
the way various cards work, the
scammers who exploit them,
the efforts to combat the scams
and the steps that the industry
can take to further tackle this
scourge. Read the full study at
BBB.org.
According to the study, pay
ment by gift card is a common
thread among many scams
that have been the subject of
previous BBB studies, includ
ing government impersonators,
business email compromise
frauds, tech support frauds,
romance scams, fake check
scams, prize/sweepstakes
scams, and online sales of
nonexistent vehicles.
Available data suggests that
gift card payment scams are
growing fast. The losses re
ported to BBB Scam Tracker
for this payment type nearly
tripled between 2017 and 2020,
with a median loss of $700 in
2020; consumers over 65 were
more likely to lose money
than younger consumers. The
Federal Trade Commission
(FTC) reports that roughly
one in four people who lost
money to a scam not related to
an online purchase paid with a
gift card, with reported losses
of $245 million since 2017 in
complaints made directly to
the FTC.
Typically when gift cards
are requested as payment in
scams, the scammer instructs
the consumer to buy a gift card
— or several — and either read
the numbers on the back over
the phone or send a photo of
the numbers on the back. If
victims ask questions about
why gift cards are being used
for payment, scammers invent
a plausible excuse, such as that
the government has recently
entered a contract with a gift
card company to handle trans
actions. Commonly requested
gift cards include eBay, Google
Play, Target, iTunes, Amazon,
and Steam, an online gam
ing company. The scammer
might promise to reimburse
the consumer later or may
send a check in advance for the
consumer to deposit. In reality,
the funds do not materialize,
or the check is invalid, and the
consumer has lost the funds
forever.
Gift cards cannot be tracked
easily and do not carry the
same legal protections as credit
or debit cards, making them an
attractive option for scammers.
While the FTC’s Telemarketing
Sales Rule (TSR) has extensive
provisions governing telemar
keting — which prohibits the
use of reloadable cards such
as Green Dot cards — it does
not currently prohibit the use
of gift cards in telemarketing.
One woman in her 80s re
ceived a call in November 2020
from someone who claimed
to be with Apple and told her
BURKE COUNTY JAIL BOOKINGS
MAR. 15-21
Brandy Nicole
Redd, 35
Craig Douglas
Alley, 34
Winter Road,
Hephzibah
BCSO, Mar. 19
Criminal trespass
Dalje Brianna
Lewis, 21
Pecan Grove,
Waynesboro
WPD, Mar 17
Shoplifting up to
$1000; **housing for
WPD
Old Waynesboro
Road, Waynesboro
BCSO, Mar. 19
Safekeeping for Jef
ferson County SO
Derquan LaJames
Scott, 23
Hickson Road,
Midville
BCSO, Mar 16
Probation violation-
felony
Jamie Randall
Weeks, 38
Morris Road,
Waynesboro
BCSO, Mar. 18
Safekeeping for
Columbia Co. SO
Brodrick Dontae
Proctor, 44
GA. Hwy 80 East,
Waynesboro
BCSO, Mar. 16
DUI-driving under
the influence
(alcohol); expired
registration
Joshua Jerel
Bates, 35
Herman Lodge
Blvd., Waynesboro
BCSO, Mar 19
Probation violation
for fingerprintable
charge-felony;
probation violation
for fingerprintable
charge-misdemean
or
Darius Terrell
Savage, 23
Andorra Drive,
Hephzibah
BCSO, Mar 17
Murder; kidnapping;
armed robbery; pos
session of a firearm
during the commis
sion of a crime
Tiffney Marie
Bullard, 23
River Road,
Waynesboro
BCSO, Mar. 15
Contributing to
delinquency of a
minor-misdemeanor
(2 counts)
John Ryan
Phillips, 29
Usher Road,
Waynesboro
BCSO, Mar. 20
DUI-driving
under the influence
(drugs); failure
to maintain lane;
safekeeping for
GA. Department
of Community
Supervision office
(Augusta)
Demarrius
Rashaad
Jeffers, 29
Zack St.,
Waynesboro
WPD, Mar 20
Violation of
temporary protec
tion order; open
container violation;
safekeeping for GA.
Department of Com
munity Supervision
Rico Denar
Abrams, 36
Washington Place,
Waynesboro
BCSO, Mar. 18
Possession of
a firearm by a
convicted felon or
1st offender pro
bationer; improper
stopping/parking
in roadway; open
container of alcohol
in motor vehicle;
driving while li
cense suspended
or revoked-misde-
meanor
AGENCIES
BCSO: Burke County Sheriff’s Office;
WPD: Waynesboro Police Department;
GSP: Georgia State Patrol;
MPD: Midville Police Department;
SPD: Sardis Police Department;
DOC: Department of Corrections
DNR: Department of Natural Resources
DISCLAIMER NOTICE: ALL ARE PRESUMED INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY IN A COURT OF LAW
Benjamin Keith
Krick, 31
Fallowfield Dr.,
Loganville
BCSO, Mar. 20
Theft by receiving
stolen property-mo-
tor vehicle-felony;
aggravated assault;
fleeing or attempt
ing to elude a
police officer-felony;
DUI-driving under
the influence (alco
hol); use of safety
belts in passenger
vehicle; reckless
driving; failure
to stop at stop
sign; driving while
license suspended
or revoked-misde-
meanor
1022 N. Liberty St., Waynesboro - 706-551-0876
that her iCloud storage was
compromised. The woman was
instructed to buy gift cards in
order to protect her data and tell
any cashier who questioned the
transaction that they were gifts
for grandchildren. She subse
quently purchased 29 $500 gift
cards to Target and Walmart,
scratching off the numbers on
the back and photographing
them with her phone. In total,
the woman lost $14,500.
Red flags to know and avoid
include:
• Government agencies re
questing payment. No govern
ment agency requests money
through gift cards.
• Statements that buying
gift cards is a safe way to
make a payment. Providing the
numbers for a gift card is like
sending cash, and the money
is rarely recoverable. Gift card
payment requests are a big red
flag for a scam.
• Keep the receipt when
buying a gift card. Keep the
physical card as well. These
may help prove that the card
was paid for and activated if
problems arise later.
• Inspect the card carefully
before buying it to be sure it
has not been tampered with.
Some scammers open the card
to get the numbers on the back
so that they can take the money
when the card is later activated.
A multi-pronged fight against
gift card scams aims to punish
fraudsters who take advantage
of gift cards and strengthen
protections for consumers.
Authorities have cracked down
on scams that rely on gift card
payments, including govern
ment impostor scams. Law
enforcement has prosecuted
so-called “money mules” who
funnel the funds transferred via
gift cards; in November 2020, a
federal court in Tampa, Florida
sentenced a man to more than
five years in prison for launder
ing gift cards illegally obtained
by scammers through an online
redemption site he operated.
State attorneys general have
reached agreements with major
retailers to make changes in
their gift card policies aimed at
stopping fraudulent purchases.
Kelvin Collins is president
& CEO of the Better Business
Bureau serving the Fall Line
Corridor.
BURKE EMA REPORT
The Burke County Emergency Management Agency re
sponded to 98 patients’ calls during the week ending March
14. Of those, 76 resulted in transports, including 50 to Au
gusta hospitals. Forty one of the transports were determined
to be an emergency and 35 were non-emergent.
The agency also answered 25 fire calls during the week.
They included three authorized/controlled bums, four brush/
grass fires, nine woods fires, two fire/smoke alarms, one
outside trash/waste or dumpster fire. One power line down,
one rescue, one structure fire, one public service call and
two unspecified calls.
Murder
Continued from front
remain anonymous.
Meanwhile, the victim’s family has reported some suspicious
activity around their home.
On Tuesday, March 16 Burke County deputies met with
Christopher Carswell, the victim’s brother, regarding text
messages he and his mother had received from unidentified
numbers and gifts sent to their house from someone unknown.
Carswell also said that approximately 2 weeks ago, one of
his nieces was outside and noticed a white Ford Crown Victoria
with tinted windows and four occupants parked near the house.
He stated that they drove away quickly and passed by again, but
they were unable to retrieve a license plate number.
The family told officers they are afraid that someone is watching
them and may try to do something to harm their family again.
Continued from front
During this period, Mobley admitted filing false information
on his income tax returns to conceal the amount of proceeds from
the illegal gambling operation.
“No matter how hard these defendants tried to hide their illegal
operation, their greed ultimately caught up with them,” said Chris
Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “FBI agents
will pursue criminal activity that violates our Constitution, no
matter where an investigation takes them, and along with the
U.S. Attorney’s Office will hold them accountable.”
“Schemes concealing funds in order to evade income tax,
such as those utilized by Mobley, are unfair to every taxpayer
who obeys the law and pays their fair share,” said IRS-Criminal
Investigation Special Agent in Charge James E. Dorsey. “The
public should know that IRS-Criminal Investigation will do
everything we can to hold individuals accountable for their
actions.”
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