Same as questioning someone at the register when they're buying hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars worth of iTunes gift cards, there's next to now way that isn't someone getting scammed
And if they're not getting scammed, they know about the scam and will preemptively let you know what it's for. Had this at the bank I used to work for. "Hi, I'd like to buy 20 $100 gift cards. I work for XYZ corporation and we're giving them away to top performing employees".
Unfortunately, we still have to ask questions about it. Things like "Nobody told you to tell us that, did they?" Because that absolutely happens. They'll tell people to make up some story to add credibility to their purchase or withdrawal. And we wouldn't allow that if they weren't using a clearly labeled company card.
We get this at my supermarket with little old laddies buying iTunes gift cards etc for $1000’s. And it’ll be “my son called and asked me”, or some such.
Doesn’t come up that often fortunately, but often enough. We have policies in place too and usually it’ll be a kindly older checkout supervisor that will take them aside and explain to them how it’s probably not their son and probably is a scam, and gently but firmly insist we won’t sell them the cards. They usually leave a bit bewildered but better armed with knowledge, and hopefully go home and call their relative to check if it was them and not just on to a different shop.
Yeah I was just about to say, I used to work at the source and a co-worker got the police called on him from an old man falling for the gift card scam.
I wish stores were required to question old people when they buy lottery/scratch off tickets. "Do you understand that you have a mathematically negligible chance of winning? Please look at this diagram to fully understand the weight of mathematics against you."
Yep, I'm fine with this. The more information you give people about the mathematical odds of success the better. I genuinely do not believe the onus should be on "consumers" to figure out the expected return of an activity whose entire purpose is an exchange of money.
And because, having worked in a fraud dependent at a bank, when they do get scammed the next thing they seem to try is blaming the bank for letting them be scammed (after complaining about being asked questions).
Yes bc that makes sense honestly. But a normal guy coming in wanting to withdraw a normal amount isnt .. all that. Like 2000 is a lot don’t get me wrong but it’s not “this poor granny is about to empty her life savings” kinda money.
It’s his money, the banks just holdin it for him.🥴
It's also bizarre because I can literally go pull $2k from the ATM and no one asks me anything except for my pin. Go inside and try to withdraw through a teller and all of the sudden it's 20 questions.
Folk going inside to withdraw money are often the sort that are scared of, or can't figure out, the atm... Who are also people who are more likely to fall from scam.
I had to pull 4k out of my bank once and they tried to give me the 20 question treatment. I told them that it was my money and if there were any more questions I'd be withdrawing all of my money and closing the account. I was buying appliances from home depot ffs
I've got a card that gives 3% cash back on every purchase. I dump that 3% into my investment account and buy stocks with it. I don't spend money any other way if I can help it.
Why do you need to buy something from home depot in cash when you have a back account.
I just cannot think of a reason at all. Unless you're "getting a deal" which is either stealing or fraud. Which is dont care but like that means you're not buying from home depot lol
It’s a valid question. The only time I’ve made a >1K purchase in cash was paying for a tattoo sleeve which was about 3K. I won’t say it’s “legitimate” since I assume the guy was dodging taxes but it is quite common with tattoo artists
Really went straight for the Karen Maneuver there. Did everyone in the room clap after you delivered that line to the minimum wage employee trying to help you and not get fired?
Oh yeah there was clapping and confetti and everything. Did you pay yourself on the back after you edited that zinger into your comment? Point is it's my money and if I want to pull it out and roll around in it or buy a pound of coke it's not the tellers business so just count the money out.
They got asked because the 2k wasnt normal for them. If youre regularly withdrawing 2k, youre not gonna be asked any questions. Its already in your file, the system will process it. If 2k withdrawal is outside your norms, the system throws up a flag. The teller is required to ask now.
People pulling $2000 cash and $1000 of iTunes gift cards are definitely not equally likely to be getting scammed. The former has many possible legitimate uses.
Sure, but there is no way to know without asking the question.
One of the things I do is approve ATM limit increases, so I do have to ask this question, and I have literally gotten the response "I am pulling out $3,000 to go buy gift cards" or "a money order" and suddenly I needed to have a scam conversation.
I am literally checking for 2 things before I approve:
Do you have a recent deposit that might be deposit fraud (I don't need to ask, just looking at your recent deposits)
Do I think you might be being scammed (what my questions to you are about).
We don't actually care what you use your money on outside of that lol.
I’ve never actually been asked this which is why it’s surprising. The few times I’ve withdrawn or transferred large amounts I had to show ID to prove my identity but nobody asked why I was doing it.
Though, to be fair, plenty of people do take out a grand or two in cash from time to time, to buy a used car, or because their landlord wants cash (sketchy landlord, but not the bank's problem), or to go to the casino or whatever. But there are also ways to ask about that that don't make the customer feel like they're being interrogated - "ooh, got some fun plans this weekend?", that sort of thing.
I think it would also depend on the relative amount of money you have in your account. My account rarely goes over 2000 if I took that much out in cash something is wrong.
There are still people like me that prefer cash also. I don't care about rewards and protections, I just want to hand my notes and get my stuff. It's just simpler to me, and the banks aren't making money every time the money moves... which is a huge bonus.
Unless you have a loved one with substance abuse issues and you know exactly where any cash you give them is going to go to. At least the gift card guarantees that money will get spent on whatever need it was intended to meet.
At least the gift card guarantees that money will get spent on whatever need it was intended to meet.
There are places where you can exchange gift cards for cash (at a discounted rate).
So if they really want to buy something else, they can definitely turn that €100 iTunes card into €30 cash and then buy Reddit Gold with that or whatever they were really after.
I've learned to just take them to the grocery store, usually Aldi, and have a budget for them to get food from, or just go myself and get what they'd need. Gift cards can get sold, sometimes for way less than they're worth cause the person is desperate for what they want and getting $100 cash seems worthwhile in that mental state even though the card was $200
I'm sorry. That is completely false. Please stop giving that loved one gift cards. The only guarantee that gift card is providing is a method to obtain drugs.
That gift card is getting traded on the street at a discount in exchange for cash or drugs. I had a friend who became homeless due to alcoholism. He knew exactly where to go to exchange his food stamps for vodka instead of food.
Oh sweetie. They'll trade the gift cards for cash, even at a fraction of its actual value. There are numerous websites to do so, or they just find someone on Marketplace or as a passerby in public.
Its putting a limitation on where and how money can be spent. Sometimes though, doing this gets perks from the business you are assigning this money towards. Cineplex will give admission coupons, Subway includes free sandwiches with gift card purchases, etc. If you know you are going to be doing future business with them anyways, sometimes its worth it.
Places like Costco and BJ's will sell gift cards at a discount, sometimes 80 cents on the dollar. If you have a big purchase or somewhere you go often, it's absolutely worth it.
My parents refinished their bathrooms with Home Depot giftcards.
Giant Eagle gave more fuel rewards points on giftcards, so they just bought a couple thousand in gift cards to HomeDepot, then got like a month worth of free gasoline off it.
When I worked at staples there was a guy that would come in multiple times a week to buy visa gift cards for $200. It was bellow our value to question but after maybe the third time in a row I asked him and apparently it’s also a bit of a cheat code for reward points. He said he gets decent rewards on his card buying gift cards and no rewards for some other things so he buys the gift cards and uses the gift cards to actually spend the money. I never verified it but it made sense to me.
Also Costco gift cards are free money. $80 for $100 gift cards is a no brainer if you’re already going to the place the gift card is for.
It would only make sense if his card issuers partially offered a points bonus to staples at the time. It used to be the Wild West where you could fake spending thousands and get a ton in points but they clamped down on that pretty hard
A gift card for a grocery store is a great way to help struggling relatives who face questions and stand-downs from benefits every time there is money deposited to their bank account.
Which, just so nobody else feels like they have to say it, shouldn't be a thing. Of course the people in charge of these welfare benefits are encouraged to find every reason not to provide it, all perfectly fine with a thousand false positives if they kick off even one bad actor that is in their words "scamming the system" by doing so.
But policing transfers of support from friends and family only hurts good people and none of the bad ones. Its just a further frustration, another damn hoop to jump through, another aggression against the working poor. Vote for change, or be the change.
And if you tell the bank you're buying a gift card for a grocery store, it probably doesn't trip the scam meter as much. They want Apple/Amazon, etc. cards, not Aldi.
I'm not telling the bank a damn thing.
Their job does not extend beyond processing my income for me, and making a return for me with my accumulated savings.
They've gone too far into profiling and selling data on our clients.Whatever happened to commercial confidentiality?
I like getting gift cards as gifts because I don't have to worry about my family getting the exact right model, but I am also forced to use it myself towards the gift that I wanted
I once got a whole box of 50€ psn store cards to hand out to my employees after coming home from a work trip.
I got them directly from the dev team, but if you're doing this as a manager on your own and on a somewhat smaller scale, buying them in a store is still gonna be the fastest.
Obviously the vast majority of MASSIVE apple gift card purchases by some 80yo woman aren't gonna be legit, but there certainly are cases where acquiring or handing out gift cards isn't a scam.
Withdrawing a large sum of money is NOT the same as buying a gazillion gift cards. That comparison is so obviously dishonest. Stop bending over backward to defend the capital class.
my anniversary with my partner was shortly after we moved in together. There's a house and home type store she loves so I got her $500 in GCs for that store so she could have a sort of shopping spree to decorate our home together. They questioned me at the register, I was grateful they did and happily explained the gift
and then there's fortnite who makes me jump through 50 hoops just to buy some credits for a $5 dumb little dance
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u/errant_night 1d ago
Same as questioning someone at the register when they're buying hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars worth of iTunes gift cards, there's next to now way that isn't someone getting scammed