The Federal Trade Commission is launching a new campaign warning people not to buy gift cards as a form of payment.
According to new data from the FTC, gift cards are a preferred way of payment for scammers.
The FTC says since 2018 Consumers have reported spending $245 Million on gift cards used as payment to scammers.
Common types of scams where the crooks demand gift cards as payments are those where they pretend to be someone else like the government.
The FTC says scammers would pretend to be from the Social Security Administration or the IRS.
Business impostor scams, family imposter scams, and tech support scams are also things you should look out for.
They say scammers will try to convince people they have to pay them using gift cards.
Often the FTC says they will tell a person to go to a store to physically buy the gift card and provide them with the PIN.
The FTC has created new materials retailers can place where gift cards are displayed and cash. registers to warn people.
More information on the campaign can be found online.
