Here we go again, folks. I got hit today with the ‘Gift Card Scamming’ instant message from an ‘old friend.’ The way it goes is, “I’m in trouble and need help right now or …” The rest is left to our vivid imaginations. Below is the conversation that came my way and my answers, as I played along.
HIM: Hey I really need you to help me with $300 rn I’ll refund you back by weekend
ME: Okay. Was at your store today.
HIM: How can you get it send to me? (As an afterthought about the store) Really?
ME: Yes, but you weren’t there.
ME: Have no idea. You can’t pick it up?
ME: What is it for?
ME: Why do you need it?
ME: Where are you?
ME: (Stalling) I can’t get out right now. Not before tomorrow.
ME: No.
ME: I don’t send money online. Don’t like it. I do check usually.
ME: I can get the money, but will be from my bank. Still cannot get it to you.
ME: What store? Pay who? And Jay, sorry, but something sounds very wrong here.
ME: You are at Macy’s now?
ME: Then who am I paying at Macy’s?
ME: Any particular cashier?
ME: Why am I putting it on a gift card? Why can’t you just meet me and get the cash?
ME: Jay, you know I don’t mind helping you out, but I need to know why it is so urgent and what the hell it is for. Are you in trouble?
HIM: Just help me out on this
ME: Once the money is on the card, then what?
HIM: Front and the back
HIM: You can get a vanilla visa gift card
ME: I will do this once, but don’t ever come back to me like this again. Understand? (Meanwhile, I am contacting his roommate and checking on scams using gift cards. Roommate says that is not him and I found the gift card scam info>)
ME: Frankly, it sounds like a gambling debt and I do not subsidize those.
HIM: 
This is what a vanilla Visa card looks like
This is what a vanilla Visa card looks likeME: okay.
ME: ok
ME: What is a Gift Card Scam…this sounds exactly like a gift card scam. No way am I getting money for anyone without them being with me face to face.
ME: If someone calls and asks that you pay them with gift cards, that’s a scammer calling. And once they have the gift card number and the PIN, they have your money. Scammers may tell you different stories to get you to pay them with gift cards, but this is what usually happens: The caller says it’s urgent. They say you have to pay right away or something terrible will happen. They want to scare or pressure you into acting quickly, so you don’t have time to think or talk to someone you trust. Don’t pay. It’s a scam. The caller usually tells you which gift card to buy. They might say to put money on an eBay, Google Play, Target, or iTunes gift card. They might send you to a specific store — often Walmart, Target, CVS, or Walgreens. Sometimes they tell you to buy cards at several stores, so cashiers won’t get suspicious. And the caller might stay on the phone with you while you go to the store and load money onto the card. If this happens to you, stop. It’s a scam. The caller asks you for the gift card number and PIN. The card number and PIN on the back of the card let the scammer get the money you loaded onto the card. Don’t give them those numbers. It’s a scam. You’ll lose your money, and you won’t be able to get it back.
ME: Nope. Can’t help. Bye
HIM: They are just saying that for you to be suspicious and that’s a normal thing
HIM: Well I’m disappointed
By this time, I had left the computer, left my apartment and warned others of this happening. Never, under any circumstances, unless you see your friend or relative face-to-face, do you go get that gift card. This one threw me for a moment because he knew the name my friend normally called me. But, trust me, if they can get your IM info, they can find out the correct name to call you when contacting you.