North Dakotans losing tens of thousands of dollars in gift card scams

(Bismarck, ND) -- An Assistant Attorney General for North Dakota is warning the state is receiving more reports of people being ripped off by gift card scams. 

"Con artists take advantage of that and they fleece them out of often thousands of dollars.  It might be $50 thousand or $100 thousand just from one victim in that kind of incident," said Parrell Grossman, in the North Dakota office of the Consumer Protection Division.

Grossman says in the past two weeks alone they have received nine reports from victims of gift card scams with losses totaling $45 thousand dollars.  The scam comes in different forms, but typically involves a con artist calling a victim and asking them to make an immediate payment over the phone using a gift card or prepaid card.  The caller might threaten the loss of government benefits, talk about a phony sweepstakes prize, or talk about a fake online job listing.  Use the link below to learn more about what to watch out for while also protecting yourself.

LINK: https://attorneygeneral.nd.gov/consumer-resources/common-scams