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Banned
I fell for a brain-dead and common scam: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/paying-scammers-gift-cards
As I relate the details, there will be multiple points where you can't believe I fell for this. You're not wrong.
My company was bought by a larger concern last December. I've been a little nervous about my job security since, and have had contact with only a few of the long-term employees (my immediate team).
On Friday, the company held an all-hands event/party that I was unable to attend because I was moving my son into his college dorm for freshman year. During the day, I received an email claiming to be from my CEO. Spoiler: it was a scam, but the scammer knew
My boss' full name and company email
My boss' email signature
My full name and company email
The email claimed my boss needed something done and requested my personal number. Nothing about this was terribly suspicious so far. I'm used to smaller companies and wearing multiple hats, and sometimes taking care of a quick thing for someone outside my department. Nothing really unusual about communicating over text, either.
We continued via text, with the scammer claiming (as my boss) that he was in a call and urgently needed some gift cards for a client. Here was my thinking at this point:
Company-wide event, everyone's tied up with it.
I'm not there, so I'm one of the few people freed up for extra tasks.
The CEO is probably in calls all the time.
Sending clients little loyalty gifts is a pretty typical thing for a company to do.
So I bought two $500 Best Buy gift cards and sent the full numbers and PINs, then asked someone at my job how to get those reimbursed. That's when I learned that multiple employees had received the same email. One card was already spent (guy bought an Apple Watch in Boca Raton, Florida) but I was able to report the second card as stolen and get it shut down.
Interestingly, if you buy gift cards through a third-party store, the issuing store can't refund or replace them. Good to know.
So I'm either $1000 wiser or paid $1000 for my job anxiety, or $500 wiser and $500 anxious. It's a blow, but I'll recover.
Beware texters seeking gift cards.
As I relate the details, there will be multiple points where you can't believe I fell for this. You're not wrong.
My company was bought by a larger concern last December. I've been a little nervous about my job security since, and have had contact with only a few of the long-term employees (my immediate team).
On Friday, the company held an all-hands event/party that I was unable to attend because I was moving my son into his college dorm for freshman year. During the day, I received an email claiming to be from my CEO. Spoiler: it was a scam, but the scammer knew
My boss' full name and company email
My boss' email signature
My full name and company email
The email claimed my boss needed something done and requested my personal number. Nothing about this was terribly suspicious so far. I'm used to smaller companies and wearing multiple hats, and sometimes taking care of a quick thing for someone outside my department. Nothing really unusual about communicating over text, either.
We continued via text, with the scammer claiming (as my boss) that he was in a call and urgently needed some gift cards for a client. Here was my thinking at this point:
Company-wide event, everyone's tied up with it.
I'm not there, so I'm one of the few people freed up for extra tasks.
The CEO is probably in calls all the time.
Sending clients little loyalty gifts is a pretty typical thing for a company to do.
So I bought two $500 Best Buy gift cards and sent the full numbers and PINs, then asked someone at my job how to get those reimbursed. That's when I learned that multiple employees had received the same email. One card was already spent (guy bought an Apple Watch in Boca Raton, Florida) but I was able to report the second card as stolen and get it shut down.
Interestingly, if you buy gift cards through a third-party store, the issuing store can't refund or replace them. Good to know.
So I'm either $1000 wiser or paid $1000 for my job anxiety, or $500 wiser and $500 anxious. It's a blow, but I'll recover.
Beware texters seeking gift cards.