Scammers push payment by iTunes gift card

Transactions nearly impossible to trace

SAN ANTONIO – Curtis Mayfield thought the pitch sounded decent when he got a call on his cellphone from a man claiming he had been chosen to receive a government grant for $7,000. The catch was that he had to pay to get the money.

“It's going to cost you $500,” he recalled the caller saying.

The caller told him to go to Walgreens and pick up iTunes gift cards to make the payment. Then he called the company back to cash in on his grant.

“They told me, 'The money is going to be in your account,'” Mayfield said.

Mayfield gave the caller the codes on the back of the gift cards and that was all the scammers needed. They now had access to his money. That government grant he was promised didn't exist.

“They got me for at least $1,750, and I'm on disability,” he said.

Susan Burdick, with the Houston Better Business Bureau, said scammers are turning to iTunes cards because they're hard to track.

"The Green Dot card was one that they did. Western Union. So this is just an updated, if you will, same old scam," Burdick said. "A lot of times, they'll pretend they're a debt collector or they're the IRS calling, and they're telling the consumer they can go ahead and buy the iTunes gift card and give them the PIN off the back and that way it's completely untraceable."

Burdick said the government will never ask anyone to use a gift card as a form of payment.

“They may take the credit card over the phone or take your check, but they're not going to ask you to go the store and ask you to buy an ITunes gift card,” Burdick said.

Mayfield said he's embarrassed and ashamed by the whole thing, but he's coming forward to warn others. His first piece of advice is not to answer calls from unknown numbers.

“It was a big lesson learned from all of this. I just want to help other people. I don't want this to happen because there are other people in worse shape than I am,” Mayfield said.

Mayfield did file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, which tracks these types of scams. If you've received a call like this and you'd like to file a complaint, visit https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/#&panel1-1.


About the Author:

Marilyn Moritz is an award-winning journalist dedicated to digging up information that can make people’s lives a little bit better. As KSAT’S 12 On Your Side Consumer reporter, she focuses on exposing scams and dangerous products and helping people save money.