Wilmington Police Warn Of Gift Card Scam

WILMINGTON, MA — The Wilmington Police Department is warning residents to be on the lookout for a scam in which an email appears to arrive from an acquaintance who is requesting the purchase of gift cards.

The Wilmington PD said the contact actually is coming from a "scammer" who is using a local resident's email contact list to reach out to possible victims.

On Facebook, the Town of Wilmington has posted a sample of the type of email residents have received in this scam.

The subject line reads: Catch up.

The message professes to be from an acquaintance and the "scammer" states that they need to purchase an Amazon E-Gift card for a friend who was diagnosed with stage 4 mesothelioma cancer.

The message states that the friend lost her daughter to COVID-19 and is celebrating a birthday. However, the "scammer" has been unable to purchase a gift card for their friend.

That's why the "scammer" is asking the person whom they contacted to purchase a gift card through Amazon and have it sent to a specific location. The "scammer" has promised to reimburse the person they have contacted.

"This is a scam," the Wilmington Police Department stated on social media.

The Town of Wilmington also posted a link to a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) website about Gift Card Scams.

The site explains why scammers often incorporate gift cards.

"Gift cards are popular with scammers because they're easy for people to find and buy," the FTC writes. "Gift cards also have fewer protections for buyers compared to some other payment options. They're more like cash: once you use a gift card, the money on it is gone."

The FTC added: "If someone calls (or emails) and asks that you pay them with gift cards, that's a scammer calling. And once they have the gift card number and the PIN, they have your money."

In addition to emailing or calling about needing to buy a gift card for a friend in need, "scammers" often claim other "urgent" reasons why the person they have contacted must purchase a gift card, including:

• The caller/emailer is from the government and says they need to collect taxes or a fine.
• The caller/emailer says they are from tech support and that something is wrong with the computer of the person they have contacted. A gift card or another form of payment is necessary to correct the problem.
• The caller/emailer contacts a person with news that they have won a prize. But in order to collect, the person must pay fees or other charges with a gift card.
• The caller/emailer will contact a person and say they are from a utility company and threaten to cut off service if the person does pay them immediately using a gift card.
• Sometimes a "scammer" sends a fake check to a person for a large amount of money. Then, the "scammer" contacts the person and asks them to cash the check and give them the difference via a gift card.

The FTC also warns that gift-card scammers sometimes target victims through dating websites.

According to the FTC, if somebody asks you to pay them in gift cards, you should:

• Report it to the FTC on its Report Fraud page. Report it even if you didn't pay. Your report helps law enforcement stop scams.
• Report it to your state attorney general.
• If you lost money, also report it to local law enforcement. A police report may help when you deal with the card issuer.