Tewksbury Police Warn Of Gift Card Scams

TEWKSBURY, MA — Tewksbury police said Thursday they have received multiple reports of gift card scams and offered tips on avoiding getting scammed.

Gift card scammers often spoof the email addresses or phone numbers of government agencies like the IRS or police and request payments in the form of gift cards. They also sometimes appear to be companies, friends and family.

"It can be hard to keep up with all the scams out there, but one important thing to remember is that gift cards cannot ever be used to pay bail, taxes or court fines," the police said. "f anyone contacts you asking for any kind of payment via gift card, you should immediately suspect it is a scam. Hang up the phone and contact the agency/company directly instead of purchasing gift cards."

Tewksbury police provided the following recommendations:

• "Verify the request before sending credit, debit or pre-paid cash card numbers over the phone, email or text.
• Many scams involve gift cards in some way, always be cautious about unusual requests to purchase gift cards.
• Scammers claiming to collect debts may try to instill fear in potential victims to persuade them to send money.
• Legitimate law enforcement agencies do not call individuals and demand money under any circumstances."

More tips are available from the Federal Trade Commission.