'Your Boss Doesn't Want You To Buy Them A Gift Card:' Scam Hits Palos

PALOS PARK, IL — Palos Park police are following up on a report of the “do me a favor scam” where fraudsters pose as your friend, pastor or boss and try to trick people into buying popular gift cards and then relaying the card’s PIN back to the imposter. The requests come via email, text or through social media.

On Tuesday, a Palos Park man told police he received an email from his boss asking him to "do me a favor." The man was instructed to buy 10 Amazon gift cards in increments of $200 each. Before emailing back the gift card PINs to his “boss,” the man examined the email more closely and realized it looked suspicious. He was able to avoid losing $2,000 when he called his employer to verify the email’s authenticity.

The scam is increasing in popularity. The imposters will also prey on people’s kindness, requesting gift cards to help another family in the community, a birthday or work event, promising to pay you back later.

Once you give the scammer all the gift information, they essentially have your money and it’s nearly impossible to recover.

Avoid the scam:

• Verify the sender’s contact information (i.e. email address, phone number, social media account). Reach out directly to the person you’re getting the request from to confirm the story.
• Beware of gift card requests. If a person insists on payment with gift cards, it’s likely a scam. To scammers, gift cards are equivalent to cash and cannot be traced back to them.

If you think you’ve fallen victim to the scam, or spotted a scam, report it to Report Fraud FTC.