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anatomy of a scam: giftcards

SCAM.PREREQUISITS
* empty gift card
* recently thrown away receipt with timestamp you can point to.

SCAM.NARRATIVE
"I just returned this sweater... but they wouldn't give me cash, so they credited this gift card [sympathy]. I can't find anything I want [more sympathy], so would you buy this gift card from me at 75% of its value [the hook]. Here's the receipt [build trust]... if you want to use my cell phone, you can call to verify the card [impractical offer, but more trust]..."

SCAM.EXECUTION
scamee hands over $10. scammer heads straight for the door, but not suspiciously fast.

SCAM.SUMMARY
i immediately went to a cashier to verify the card after our transaction. waiting in line was the LONGEST two minutes of my life. luckily, everything was legit.... this time... but i'll never again hand over money without verifying the card first.... no matter how grisly and smoke-filled his voice sounds...

Posted by steveh at February 14, 2007 12:00 AM