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Gift card/work scam
Please read for a bit of a warning if you work as a cashier and/or to inform other older people! It’s a bit long, so there’s a TL;DR at the end, as well.
So today at my work, this older lady (lets call her V) came in to open a store credit card. She had done it through customer service and it was normal so no one thought anything of it. She then asked for help on how to use her camera because she wanted to send a receipt of the credit card purchase (first red flag). My manager (call her M1), thinking she was just trying to keep it as proof, showed her how to take a photo on her new phone. V then proceeded to send the picture to the scammer “boss.” Then, about 10 min later she came back and wanted to buy a $100 gift card and stated that it was for her boss. M1 called security to come because she thought that it sounded scammy. Security actually spoke on the phone with the scammer and informed V that it was likely a scam. V states that it was actually her boss and proceeds with the purchase.
One hour later, V enters the store again and this time she speaks to a cashier (calling them C1). I overheard the conversation and this time she wanted to purchase one $100 gift card and one $200 gift card. I walk over to C1 and inform her that V is likely being scammed. V insists that it is her boss and C1 checks her out.
About 20 minutes later, V comes back and wants to buy a $500 gift card. Another manager (M2) is working customer service. I had already told M2 about the scam. M2 tells V that it is a scam and that if she wants to proceed with the purchase, she has to go to self checkout because we can’t keep allowing it by checking her out. She is helped at self checkout to purchase with her new store credit card and then leaves.
Should the managers and the cashier have let her purchase the gift cards? We had told her several times that she was being scammed, but she didn’t want to listen. I’m pretty sure it’s a mix of a job and gift card scam, and the “boss” probably told her that he would reimburse her (with most likely a fake check that will bounce).
Thanks for any advice in advance!
TL;DR Old lady being scammed comes in repeatedly to buy gift cards for a “boss” that probably doesn’t exist and is convinced that he is her boss. Managers and cashiers let her purchase the gift cards for scam after informing her multiple times.
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