Webster, N.Y. — A 63-year-old woman is sharing her experience after falling victim to a gift card scam that left her financially strained, even though the scammers never received her money, 13wham reports.
Kelly McDonald of Webster said the incident occurred in December while she was experiencing issues with her new laptop. A pop-up message appeared on the screen instructing her to call a phone number for technical assistance. The individual who answered claimed that her computer had been hacked.
McDonald said the caller frightened her and urged her to immediately withdraw all of her money from the bank and purchase Apple gift cards.
Instead of Apple gift cards, McDonald accidentally bought $1,500 worth of Applebee’s gift cards and a $300 TJ Maxx gift card at Wegmans.
She said the scammers became irritated when they realized the cards were not what they had requested. The caller then instructed her to take photos of the gift cards and email them, but the message failed to send.
Although the scammers never received the gift card information, the funds McDonald spent were locked onto the cards, leaving her struggling financially.
Dan Lyon, fraud scam program manager for Lifespan of Greater Rochester, said cases like this are common in the Rochester area. He explained that victims often face serious consequences even when fraud attempts are interrupted.
Lyon warned that consumers should be cautious of any urgent payment requests involving gift cards, cryptocurrency, wire transfers, or digital payment services such as Venmo, CashApp, or PayPal. He added that scammers target people of all ages but often focus on adults over 60 because they are more likely to have savings.
Wegmans said it worked with the gift card vendor to obtain a refund for McDonald. In a statement, the company noted that each gift card fraud case is evaluated individually and that refunds are not always possible. Wegmans emphasized that customers should not assume similar outcomes in every case.
McDonald said she hopes that by sharing her story, others will be able to recognize the warning signs and avoid becoming victims of similar scams.
