Number of recent reports of gift card scams in North Yorkshire
Police are urging residents to not fall victim to a scam involving gift cards
There has been a number of recent reports of a gift card scam targeting people in North Yorkshire.
An email or social media message is received which appears to be from a friend, colleague or family member asking you to buy a number of gift cards - Google or Apple Pay. The email will usually be from someone you know (their email may have been hacked) and explains they can't buy the gift cards themselves because they are in a meeting or can't get to the shop but that they will pay you back as soon as they can.
The email will also likely ask you to photograph the cards once purchased and send them photos of the unique codes printed on each card.
This allows the scammer to use the gift cards to make online purchases and police are warning that you will never see your money again.
Typically the value of the gift cards is around £500.
Advice
If you receive an email like this, do not purchase any gift cards. If it is from someone you know, ring them to check if the request is really from them and if not then they need to be alerted their email may have been hacked.
If you work in retail and someone attempts to buy gift cards to a large value, please check they are aware of this scam and that they are certain the request they have received to buy the cards is genuine.
Anyone who does fall victim to the scam is asked to call their bank and the police or Action Fraud immediately.