Douglas County Sheriff’s Office warns public of gift card scams

MINDEN, Nev. (KOLO) - The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office is warning the public of gift card scams.

According to the AARP, gift card fraud against the elderly has increased by 74% since the start of pandemic.

These kinds of scams tend to happen when a scammer convinces a victim of a false financial obligation. The victim then purchases gift cards and shares the numbers off the back.

A second form of this kind of fraud is done through zero-value gift cards, where a consumer has given or received a card with no funds on it.

The scammer will attempt to convince you to pay bills, taxes, or other financial obligations through these gift cards or an electronic voucher. They then obtain the information on the back of the card to collect its prepaid value.