Gifts Cards Are for Gifts — Not Criminals

Other key findings from the AARP survey:

• Nearly 1 in 3 adults (31 percent) said they or someone they know had been asked at some point to purchase a gift card to pay a bill, fee or some other debt or obligation or to claim a prize. None is a valid reason. Gift cards are for gifts for people you know and trust — not for any other purpose.
  
  
• Of those who were asked to buy a card for one of the above reasons, more than 1 in 10 (11 percent) complied. Often they picked up the cards at stores such as Walmart, Target, CVS or Walgreens. Notably, some respondents said a store clerk or sales associate warned them that buying gift cards for a purported financial obligation is a scam.
  
  
• People who were asked by outsiders for gift cards most often said they were told the cards were needed to pay a fee to collect a larger prize, sweepstakes or lottery. The other ruses victims were given, in descending order: the need to deal with a supposed Social Security problem; to pay an upfront fee for a product or service; to pay for something else; to pay to fix a computer or other electronic device; to pay a utility bill for water, heat or electricity; to pay back taxes or overdue taxes; to help someone take care of a utility bill or buy them necessities; or to pay a fine to avoid arrest.
  
  
• Adults in the survey ages 18 to 49 were more likely to know someone who had been asked for a gift card (63 percent) to pay for a financial obligation or to claim a prize than people age 50 and older (38 percent).
  
  
• Among those who know someone who was asked for a gift card for the wrong reasons, nearly 6 in 10 (58 percent) said the acquaintance either lives in their household or is a relative residing elsewhere.

A reminder that bears repeating

Remember that gift cards are for trusted friends, relatives and associates — not for the faraway strangers who call, email, text or reach out on social media with a bogus story.

The survey of 1,000 adults was conducted Feb. 12 and 13 by AmeriSpeak Omnibus, which is operated by NORC at the University of Chicago. Ninety-three percent of the surveys were completed online and 7 percent by phone. The overall survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent.