Minden, NV - The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office would like to warn members of the public to be aware of and help protect the elderly against being victims of gift card fraud.
According to a survey from AARP, the advocacy group for older Americans, the latest percentage of gift card fraud against the elderly has increased by 74% since the pandemic started. Perpetrators have preyed on them with two common scenarios. Gift card payment scams happen when a criminal convinces a consumer to pay a fake financial obligation, by purchasing gift cards and sharing the numbers off the back, and zero-value gift cards which are when a consumer has given or received a card with no funds on it.
In these scams, criminals convince targets that they need to purchase a gift card, sometimes called an electronic voucher, to pay bills, taxes, or some other financial obligation. The fraudster asks for the information on the back of the card so they can collect the prepaid value or some other financial obligation.
Being aware of these types of scams is the first step to protecting our elderly population. Please help us protect our seniors and loved ones from these predators.