It has become a common scam in recent years: Someone calls an unsuspecting victim to instill panic and pressure them into buying gift cards.
The fraudster might pretend to be with the IRS, threatening that the victim will be arrested if he or she doesn’t pay up by purchasing a gift card. Or they might pose as an attorney for a family member. Or as an online love interest who needs help in paying a debt in the form of a gift card.
Gift card burning a hole in your pocket?
Chances are, you probably received a piece of the $26 billion in gift cards given out this holiday season.
Gift cards for consumer electronics were among the most popular gifts this year. The cards are desirable because they’re convenient and let recipients get the things they really want.
But people don’t always take full advantage of them. An estimated $45 billion in gift cards has gone unredeemed since 2005, according to CardHub.
Here are a few tips for making sure you get the most out of your gift cards:
As one of the first retailers to offer shoppers plastic gifts cards 20 years ago, Best Buy led one of the hottest trends in gift-giving.
Back then, our wallet-sized plastic cards replaced cumbersome paper gift certificates.
It took a while for shoppers to embrace the concept of gift cards, but today they’re one of the most popular items for gift-givers and gift-receivers. In fact, the National Retail Federation expected total spending on the cards to reach $25.9 billion in 2015.