Quincy Police Department issued the following announcement on Dec. 8.
This is a friendly reminder from the Quincy Police Department about a scam that is not new, but has resurfaced in our area regarding gift cards, usually iTunes and Wal-Mart. Gift cards are to be used for gifts, never for making payments to someone.
Anyone who demands payment by a gift card is a scammer. Here is how one variation of this scam works. The scammer will often tell you to go buy a popular gift card, frequently, iTunes, Wal-Mart, etc. Once you buy the card, the caller then will demand the gift card number and PIN on the back of the card. Those numbers let them immediately get the money you loaded onto the card. And once they’ve done that, the scammers and your money are gone, usually without a trace.
Remember, if anyone tells you to pay by gift card, or by wiring money – for any reason – that’s a sure sign of a scam, every time. Do not become a victim of any variation of the gift card scam.
Original source can be found here.
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