Walmart returns $4 million to customers affected by gift card scams – see if you qualify for money back

WALMART has helped return a total of $4 million to customers affected by gift card fraud.

If you are a victim of a scam, you have the option to contact the store and request your money back.

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Digital gift card fraud has become increasingly common in recent years.

These scams typically involve scammers convincing a victim to purchase a gift card from a popular store like Apple, Amazon, or Walmart.

Scammers pose as customer service representatives or government officials and ask people to purchase gift cards and provide them with the barcode and PIN number.

Sometimes they use the pretext of securing funds at risk.

Sometimes they ask for gift cards to pay for urgent services.

Gift cards are attractive to fraudsters because, like physical cash, they are not tied to a person’s name.

Walmart enters

Walmart has used some innovative internal technologies to prevent these scams.

Since 2018, the effort has raised nearly $4 million for consumers.

This has led to a decrease in reports of gift card fraud, but it still happens.

What to do if you get scammed?

Walmart has set up a dedicated hotline for those who believe they have been targeted by a gift card fraudster – (888) 537-5503.

If you are a victim of a scam, you can also report it to the Federal Trade Commission.

Common scams

According to the store, there are two common types of fraud affecting Walmart customers.

The first is the grandparent scam – where a scammer calls the victim pretending to be a lawyer or a relative and tells them that their loved one is in trouble, i.e. kidnapped, arrested, etc.

They will instruct the victim to purchase Walmart gift cards and share the gift card numbers to send money.

Another common scam is the tech support scam.

The scammer poses as a technical support employee and tells the victim that their computer is infected.

The fake agent demands payment via gift card in exchange for repairing their device.

RED FLAGS

Walmart has also identified some common warning signs to watch out for.

• You will never be asked to pay your utility bills, security deposits, collections and hospital bills with Walmart gift cards.
• Do not click on or respond to online ads or websites offering free gift cards. This is often fraud.
• If you receive a call from a stranger saying a loved one is in trouble and asking you to provide gift card numbers to help them, hang up and contact your loved one directly.
• Don’t always trust your caller ID. Scammers can manipulate a caller ID to look like a legitimate company or government agency.

In the meantime, if you are affected by a data breach, you could be owed over $700 from Capital One.

And payments of up to $5,000 are made by a lender with poor credit.