Google may have inadvertently SCAM you – did you lose money?

IF you check your gift card balance online, you may need to watch out for this scam.

Google has been accused of prominently promoting a deceptive ad for a fake Target gift card balance checker.

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Based on The Verge, fake gift card balance checker can really steal your money.

A Reddit user posted a screenshot of the scam ad on r / assholedesign.

It shows the gift card checker being advertised at the top of Google.

A Reddit user entered “Gift Card Balance Goal” on Google Search and found an ad titled “Gift Card Balance Check – Goal”.

The website the ad leads you to is not Target but a scam site called “bristolhirevan”.

It looks pretty legit aside from a strange web address and would be easy to miss.

Researchers from The Verge also found the ad and the fake website and found it had a lot of links back to the official Target site.

The scammers have clearly worked to lull their victims into a false sense of security.

Victims who enter their gift card number and security card can have the full amount on the gift card stolen.

The good news is that the ad has now been taken down by Google for violating its “anti-phishing policy”.

Scammers have also had their Google accounts suspended.

You should still be on the lookout for other similar scams.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, victims of gift card fraud lost $148 million last year.

This type of cybercrime is said to be on the rise.

How to avoid Target gift card scams

Remember, the Target website requires you to sign in before checking your gift card balance.

Double check that the website address is the official Target site.

If the gift card balance checker starts asking for personal data, such as bank details, avoid that.

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