Many people pay for purchases using their PayPal account and expect to receive an invoice. Scammers can also use the following methods to trick victims: Fake PayPal invoices Buy items and then send a letter to the Steam support team saying that the gift card was used in error, and that the sender needs the money back.īut that’s just one variation of a Steam gift card scam.Buy items with the gift card and sell those items online.To salvage the accounts, scammers pressure victims to buy Steam gift cards and then send them the activation or PIN numbers. They call, text, or email victims saying that there’s something wrong with their accounts. The most common form of Steam card scams starts with attackers pretending to be well-known businesses. While Steam gift cards are typically used to buy video games sold by the gaming platform, they can also be used to steal money or credentials. adults are unaware that gift cards are a form of payment commonly used in scams.Īmong the increasing reports of such types of fraud are Steam Wallet gift card scams. Yet, according to AARP, nearly a quarter of U.S. The Better Business Bureau ( BBB) reported that gift card scam incidents nearly tripled between 20. In the end, she bought $16,000 worth of gift cards that she never saw again. He explained that he would pay the scammers off and then pay her back.īut of course, those other scammers never existed - the man on the line was the scammer. Instead of talking to a helpful representative, the man who answered insisted that scammers were 'getting into her pension and savings.” To prevent more fraudulent activity, he said she had to go to Target and load gift cards worth $500 each.

Panic-stricken, she called it hoping to report fraud right away. But she hadn’t bought those items.Ĭonveniently, the email also listed a customer service number.

What looked like an order confirmation for an expensive laptop and camera should not have alarmed her. A North Carolina woman was startled to receive an email in March, 2021 that appeared to be from Amazon.