Many people are getting losing their money daily, getting scammed especially through the ebay gift card scams. Read this article to find out ways to protect yourself from the ebay gift card scams.
What is eBay Gift card Scam?
eBay Gift card scams are scams which scammers use to rip off unsuspecting customers. You might receive a call or text from someone who says that they’re eBay Customer Service. They tell you that your account is frozen and you need to buy eBay Gift Cards in order to unfreeze your account. However this is false as eBay will never ask you to purchase gift cards to unlock your account or ask you to provide sensitive personal information.
. Your eBay Gift Card can only be redeemed at checkout on eBay.com. Do not use your gift card to pay anyone outside of the eBay platform.
You should always Remember that gift cards are meant for gifts, not criminals. Many retailers are also working to stop the fraud by limiting the amount of gift cards you can buy at one time, and also having employees ask to make sure you buying the gift cards aren’t part of a scam.
If you’re asked for payment in gift cards, more than likely it’s a scam.
How to Protect yourself
- Contact eBay Customer Service immediately.
- Report the scam to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) or, if you’re outside the United States, you can report the scam to your local consumer protection agency or report it to econsumer.gov.
- Keep the eBay gift card itself and the receipt you received when you bought it. We’ll need these as proof of purchase to verify that you bought the gift card.
How to avoid Gift Card Scams
- Treat your eBay gift card redemption code like cash
- Never share your gift card code with anyone
- Only redeem your gift card at checkout on eBay.com
- Don’t use your gift card to pay anyone outside of eBay
- If a seller says they’ll only accept payment by gift card, don’t go through with the transaction – it’s a scam
Conclusion
Nearly $245 million in gift card fraud was reported to the FTC between January 2018 and the end of September 2021. The median individual loss was $840. About one in four people who were scammed, were scammed through Gift card fraud. Be Careful, If someone asks you to use an eBay gift card to pay for something that is not listed on the eBay site, this is a scam.
