I think my local supermarket thinks I'm scamming them!

soolin

Just to follow up my last post, here is another thread where someone has been scammed

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6201087/amazon-gift-cards-fraud-scam-but-no-way-to-claim-a-refund#latest

Bacman

Surely it would be obvious to anyone that if a Government body like the HRMC were to make contact that there is no way they'd take Amazon vouchers!   In any scenario it would be a scam. Like those bad grammar emails saying you need to re-validate an account that you may or may not even have. If a "boss" desperately needed someone to buy them something, quite simple, use his credit card or have him pay you in cash or you won't do it. 

Sorry, people need common sense.

MysteryMe

No victim of a crime should be made to feel embarrassed or ashamed. The percentage of fraud victims reporting such crimes to the authorities is quite low. In many cases it's because the victim of a crime is fearful of being judged as an idiot lacking in common sense. 
Such ignorant attitudes only assist the criminal fraternity. If a crime is not reported, it can't be investigated.

Bacman

It is not ignorance of attitude, it is common sense not to get caught in the first place, the scams in question are so clearly a scam. People are either scammed because they don't use common sense or the scam appeals to their greed and many turn off common sense for greed.

kimwp

Bacman said:

It is not ignorance of attitude, it is common sense not to get caught in the first place, the scams in question are so clearly a scam. People are either scammed because they don't use common sense or the scam appeals to their greed and many turn off common sense for greed.

It's not "clearly a scam" to those that are scammed though. Different people have different experiences and knowledge, some are more vulnerable than others, some are emotionally manipulated by the scammers - by  intimidation, fake relationships etc. We will all be vulnerable at some point, whether through age, losing touch with the latest trends in technology or other situations regardless of our innate level of "common sense". 

Farway

kimwp said:

Bacman said:

It is not ignorance of attitude, it is common sense not to get caught in the first place, the scams in question are so clearly a scam. People are either scammed because they don't use common sense or the scam appeals to their greed and many turn off common sense for greed.

It's not "clearly a scam" to those that are scammed though. Different people have different experiences and knowledge, some are more vulnerable than others, some are emotionally manipulated by the scammers - by  intimidation, fake relationships etc. We will all be vulnerable at some point, whether through age, losing touch with the latest trends in technology or other situations regardless of our innate level of "common sense". 

A quote I remember about "common sense" is that it is not that common

soolin

kimwp said:

Bacman said:

It is not ignorance of attitude, it is common sense not to get caught in the first place, the scams in question are so clearly a scam. People are either scammed because they don't use common sense or the scam appeals to their greed and many turn off common sense for greed.

It's not "clearly a scam" to those that are scammed though. Different people have different experiences and knowledge, some are more vulnerable than others, some are emotionally manipulated by the scammers - by  intimidation, fake relationships etc. We will all be vulnerable at some point, whether through age, losing touch with the latest trends in technology or other situations regardless of our innate level of "common sense". 

The problem is though how do you protect truly vulnerable or naive people? The sort of person who hands over cash to a stranger online is the sort of person who used to fall for the old pub scam (probably 50 years old now) ‘I have bedding or towels or a TV on my van in the pub car park, give me £50 and it’s yours and I’ll just go and get it’. Buyer hands over £50 and seller disappears.  How do you stop them falling for these scams unless you physically exclude them from handling their own bank affairs or refuse them access to the internet? I suspect if that was ever suggested there would rightly be an outcry about civil liberties . 

Voyager2002

toshkininny said:

I dont think I am?!  Through my work I get discounts at certain places and get 4% off my local supermarket.  So if I put £100 on the supermarket's gift card, it only costs me £96.  So with this gift card I have been buying Amazon gift cards - I have spent a lot at Amazon recently and so have bought quite a lot of the gift cards from the supermarket, in effect I'm getting 4% off of Amazon.  Anyway, went to buy one today for someones birthday, none there, I asked one of the "colleagues" and was told the Manager has stopped selling them as someone has been buying alot of them and thinks there is a scam going on!  Since they know it's one person, they must know it's me and I feel really awkward now about shopping in there.  I've bought about £400 worth of Amazon voucher this year roughly, it can't be me they are referring to , can they?  !

The supermarket have not got to the point of suspecting you or anyone. They are simply aware that these gift cards are often used in scams and if something dodgy is going on they don't want to be blamed for failing to protect the victim. Probably they don't make much or anything from selling them, so from their point of view the simplest solution is to stop stocking them.

payless

Buying gift cards with. Gift card .. probably against Terms, but sometimes it works, other times it gets picked up.. don’t fret just use another store / branch 

DCFC79

Bacman said:

Surely it would be obvious to anyone that if a Government body like the HRMC were to make contact that there is no way they'd take Amazon vouchers!   In any scenario it would be a scam. Like those bad grammar emails saying you need to re-validate an account that you may or may not even have. If a "boss" desperately needed someone to buy them something, quite simple, use his credit card or have him pay you in cash or you won't do it. 

Sorry, people need common sense.

Thats the thing, when some people are told they owe money to hmrc they get so worried they go along with what they are being told.
Ive heard itunes vouchers are also being asked for.

Yes its silly, how would a gift card resolve an issue at hmrc.