A Tremont woman claims she’s out $17,000 after falling victim to an iTunes gift card scam.
According to information released this week from State Police in Schuylkill Haven, the woman, age 79, reported to authorities back on July 22 that she’d received multiple checks in the mail.
The woman was allegedly told to send the money back to the people who sent it to her but in the form of iTunes gift cards.
So, the Tremont woman went out and bought $17,000 in iTunes gift cards. Further, the checks she received were no good and bounced.
Unfortunately, this woman isn’t the first and likely won’t be the last Schuylkill County resident to fall victim to a gift card scam.
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Residents should be aware that this is a growing method of scamming people, especially seniors, out of thousands of dollars. And finding the criminals behind these schemes has proven to be very difficult, if not impossible.
The FBI warns that anyone demanding payment with gift cards is likely a scammer. And the Federal Trade Commission wants consumers who’ve either fallen victim to a similar scam or been approached by someone attempting to dupe them with a gift card scam to contact them.
You can file a report at ftc.gov/complaint, or call toll-free: 1-877-FTC-HELP.
Photo licensed via Depositphotos
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