There are lots of scammers pretending to be from the tax authorities demanding payment and threatening imprisonment, or fines etc for non-payment.
There are also lots of scammers trying to get people to buy gift cards such as Amazon gift cards and iTunes gift cards to give to the scammers as payment.
These scammers don’t need the physical gift cards – just the number identifying the card and that it has been paid for. They can then sell those numbers to other criminals or use them as they wish.
But you would expect that people would only fall for a tax scam if it is believable e.g. a phone call from someone who knows your name, address, employment situation etc.
However, a lot of the tax scammers demand payment in gift cards, especially in iTunes gift cards.
How could anyone possibly think they are dealing with the tax authorities when payment must be in iTunes gift cards?
That makes no sense, but thousands of people have fallen for this scam and gone to the shops to buy the gift cards. Some shops are even wary of people who buy a bundle of high value gift cards in one go and will question the buyer as to what it is for.
The only people who demand payment in gift cards are scammers – that’s simple enough.
Do enter your email address and click on the subscribe button on top right to keep up to date with new posts.
