# Scammers and gift cards **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 16, 2021, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scammers-and-gift-cards/940156 "2021-04-16T17:04:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Yelnick\_McWawa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/839c29/32.png) [@Yelnick\_McWawa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yelnick_McWawa)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2021, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scammers-and-gift-cards/940156/1 "2021-04-16T17:04:06Z")
I received an email that there was $10 million waiting for me if would only pay the $88 shipping fee with an iTunes gift card. Last year, a Social Security scammer told me to go to my local Stop & Shop supermarket chain and get $800 in gift cards. I assume their ultimate goal is cash, but how much do they actually get? How do they sell them so quickly? I assume that once they have the number(s), the card is depleted/spent within 15 minutes (so that the transaction can not be reversed). ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2021, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scammers-and-gift-cards/940156/2 "2021-04-16T17:08:25Z")
Pretty good overview here: > **[Why do scammers want gift cards | Kroger Gift Cards](https://giftcards.kroger.com/blog/why-do-scammers-want-gift-cards)** > > Stay aware of gift card scams with our guide on why scammers want gift cards. Learn how they work, how to avoid them and how to report a gift card scam. ---
**Author:** ![Yelnick\_McWawa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/839c29/32.png) [@Yelnick\_McWawa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yelnick_McWawa)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2021, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scammers-and-gift-cards/940156/3 "2021-04-16T17:32:19Z")
I read that article before I posted… It does not address my question. It says, in part, “Once the cards have been purchased, the caller will ask for the gift card numbers and codes. With these details, the scam artist has instant access to the funds and your money is gone.” How do they “instantly” turn a iTunes gift card into cash, especially large amounts. I thought that iTunes gift cards could only be used to buy something at an Apple store. I doubt they have an accomplice sitting at an Apple store ready to buy an iPhone. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2021, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scammers-and-gift-cards/940156/4 "2021-04-16T17:39:31Z")
This one any better ? > **[How Do Scammers Use iTunes Gift Cards? - First Orion](https://firstorion.com/how-do-scammers-use-itunes-gift-cards/)** > > Last November, we asked the question, “Why do scammers like iTunes gift cards so much?” While having the best Farmville farm was a far-out idea, one ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2021, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scammers-and-gift-cards/940156/5 "2021-04-16T17:41:10Z")
> [@Yelnick\_McWawa](#): > > I thought that iTunes gift cards could only be used to buy something at an Apple store. I doubt they have an accomplice sitting at an Apple store ready to buy an iPhone. They launder it through the app store, buying apps or in-app purchases from app-developers who are in on the scam. ---
**Author:** ![Yelnick\_McWawa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/839c29/32.png) [@Yelnick\_McWawa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yelnick_McWawa)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2021, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scammers-and-gift-cards/940156/6 "2021-04-16T20:26:34Z")
Ahhhh. Apple takes 30%, but I guess 70% of something is better than 100% of nothing. I would think Apple would raise a few eyebrows when sales peaks and valleys aren’t the typical norm. I wonder how much effort Apple puts into detecting scammers when they get 30%, ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2021, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scammers-and-gift-cards/940156/7 "2021-04-16T20:30:27Z")
> [@Yelnick\_McWawa](#): > > I wonder how much effort Apple puts into detecting scammers when they get 30%, Extremely little. Although I don’t really think Apple cares about the 30% they get off of scams, it’s just difficult and expensive for Apple to actually police the app store, and why bother. A good idea would probably be a regulation that required companies that issue gift cards to have some liability in the event of fraud, and watch how quickly they figure out how to fix it. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2021, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scammers-and-gift-cards/940156/8 "2021-04-16T20:57:45Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > A good idea would probably be a regulation that required companies that issue gift cards to have some liability in the event of fraud I can’t get on board with that one. A retailer is there to sell you the gift cards, not ask you why you want to purchase them or what you plan to do with them after you leave. By that logic, why not hold the bus line liable for shuttling the victim to and from the store to get the cards? And what if, as victims are often instructed to do, the customer tells the cashier the gift cards are for a birthday present. Should the store still be liable? > [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > watch how quickly they figure out how to fix it. I think the stores would figure it out by not selling them anymore. It very well may not be worth the risk to them. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2021, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scammers-and-gift-cards/940156/9 "2021-04-16T21:11:08Z")
You’re misunderstanding my suggestion. The company that issues the gift card is Apple, not the retailer. I agree that it would be pretty hard for a retailer to stop this. But _Apple_ knows where the money is going and has lots of analytic methods to find and stop this behavior, but no incentives to do so. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2021, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scammers-and-gift-cards/940156/10 "2021-04-16T21:23:11Z")
I’ve got to question the gullibility of people, like our neighbor’s parents who thought it was perfectly normal for the IRS to threaten to take them to court unless they paid a decade of back taxes _with iTunes and Amazon Gift Cards._ ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2021, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scammers-and-gift-cards/940156/11 "2021-04-16T21:34:06Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > You’re misunderstanding my suggestion. The company that issues the gift card is Apple, not the retailer. > > I agree that it would be pretty hard for a retailer to stop this. But _Apple_ knows where the money is going and has lots of analytic methods to find and stop this behavior, but no incentives to do so. You’re right, I misunderstood that. However, I’m not convinced Apple should be held liable. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2021, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scammers-and-gift-cards/940156/12 "2021-04-17T09:01:13Z")
They also just resell them at face value (sometimes more than face value) on marketplaces such as eBay, etc. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2021, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scammers-and-gift-cards/940156/13 "2021-04-17T09:35:01Z")
> [@digs](#): > > I’ve got to question the gullibility of people, like our neighbor’s parents who thought it was perfectly normal for the IRS to threaten to take them to court unless they paid a decade of back taxes _with iTunes and Amazon Gift Cards._ Spammers target the elderly because they often are starting to lose/have lost reasoning abilities. Why younger, seemingly well-educated people fall for this crap, I have no idea. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2021, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scammers-and-gift-cards/940156/14 "2021-04-17T19:05:39Z")
About as normal as dozens of Nigerian princes needing help from anonymous sources to get their enormous, entitled inheritance? ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2021, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scammers-and-gift-cards/940156/15 "2021-04-17T19:08:43Z")
It appears that overseas scammers (which is most of them) have multiple contacts in the US – i.e., money mules – that can convert one kind of commodity or cash into another. For a generous cut, of course, but it helps insulate the crooks at the top. Watch Pleasant Green’s YouTube videos for detailed examples of how this works. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2021, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scammers-and-gift-cards/940156/16 "2021-04-18T01:42:01Z")
There was a good episode of [The Moth podcast](https://themoth.org/stories/do-you-know-who-youre-buying-this-for) by a young person who _almost_ got scammed by such a scam. The trick is that they play on human psychology that bypasses the part of our brains that reasons about things. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2021, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scammers-and-gift-cards/940156/17 "2021-04-18T04:32:06Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > It appears that overseas scammers (which is most of them) have multiple contacts in the US – i.e., money mules – that can convert one kind of commodity or cash into another. For a generous cut, of course, but it helps insulate the crooks at the top. > > Watch Pleasant Green’s YouTube videos for detailed examples of how this works. I’m not familiar with Pleasant Green, but Mark Rober just did a video on money mules as well. If you’re not familiar with Mark Rober, he’s the ‘glitter bomb’ guy from about a year ago. Also, if you’re not familiar with him, his videos are all amazing and worth watching, if you like the Smarter Every Day/Stuff Made Here type videos. In any case, here’s the recent money mule video. A few minutes into it he shows how one of the scammers operates. This isn’t the typical iTunes gift card scam, but what the scammer does is pretty evil and convincing enough that I’m guessing a lot of people fall for it. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/VrKW58MS12g/maxresdefault.jpg "Glitterbomb Trap Catches Phone Scammer (who gets arrested)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrKW58MS12g) ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2021, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scammers-and-gift-cards/940156/18 "2021-04-23T17:38:21Z")
> [@digs](#): > > I’ve got to question the gullibility of people, like our neighbor’s parents who thought it was perfectly normal for the IRS to threaten to take them to court unless they paid a decade of back taxes _with iTunes and Amazon Gift Cards._ It’s adrenaline. The calls are designed to get you to stop thinking and push you straight into fear mode where the rational, logical part of your brain checks out. Then, they don’t let up, they keep up the pressure and the tension so that you never have time to really stop and think through “hold it, why does the social security commission want to go to Applebees? That’s not even a good restaurant. In fact, isn’t it the social security administration? They got their name wrong?” instead it’s stuck on “COPS ARE COMING!!! REACT!!!” I also don’t see how the issuer can be responsible for this without using a lot of the utility of gift cards. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2021, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scammers-and-gift-cards/940156/19 "2021-04-23T17:53:26Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > They also just resell them at face value (sometimes more than face value) on marketplaces such as eBay, etc. That’s what I figured. But I suppose the more time that goes between me giving you the number and you making the card unusable by redeeming it, the more chance there is for me to say “Oh shit” and redeem it myself. It’s in the scammer’s interest to cash the card in ASAP, within seconds if possible, while emotions are high and the victim isn’t thinking clearly. I suppose you could take the iTunes/Amazon gift cards, redeem them and then use the credit to buy more gift cards to sell? ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2021, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scammers-and-gift-cards/940156/20 "2021-04-23T17:58:20Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > I also don’t see how the issuer can be responsible for this without using a lot of the utility of gift cards. It would be more the redeemer’s part. If someone is funneling the money through the itunes store, then some better betting of those who can receive money through that store would be appropriate. Maybe hold funds in escrow for some time before they can be cashed out. Then if people start reporting scams, they can see where that money went, and shut down that storefront, hopefully also returning the money. They could also be a bit proactive. I don’t know how much is bought via gift card vs regular payment types, but they do. If it seems as though one storefront is a much higher percent, that should flag it for closer scrutiny. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scammers-and-gift-cards/940156.md?page=2)