📋 States Target Gift Card Scams With Penalties, Warnings (AARP Article/Advocacy)

[Winter2025VA]

FROM THE ARTICLE.

AARP has notched wins in 11 states this year as it fights back against gift card fraud.

By Miriam Cross, AARP. Published September 16, 2025.

Scamers who impersonate government agents, romantic prospects or IT specialists often use gift cards as a way to siphon money from their victims. Other times they bypass individual targets entirely and drain the value of the gift cards sitting on store shelves before an unsuspecting buyer has even taken one off the rack.

That’s why AARP is attacking the problem of gift card fraud from both sides.

USE LINK BELOW TO READ THE ARTICLE.

https://www.aarp.org/advocacy/state-wins-gift-card-scams/

[Winter2025VA]

What I just donot understand is WHY the United States has NOT figured out a way to STOP criminals from draining Giftcards just purchased. With ALL the Smart Folks we have, surely there has to be a solution.

Personally I NO longer buy them and suggest NOT sending me any to the folks in my life. Just give me cash.

The only giftcards I now do at age 67 are the ones I "may" win through the AARP Rewards Program. IF it says ZERO when I get ready to pay, not a big deal. Lol, would be a big deal IF I paid for it.

Take care,

Nicole (Friends & Family Forum)

[GailL1]

The elderly seem to be easy targets because many of them are naive and not tech-savvy.  The article mentions the “new” bitcoin scam and this was just reported in the Atlanta news yesterday.

FOX5 ATLANTA 09/16/2025 - Roswell woman scammed out of $100K in Bitcoin scheme 

The woman had no idea that she was being scammed - she wasn’t up on technology so they could tell her anything because she was so gullible.

Many elderly do not want to get into any government problems so when somebody identifies themself as a federal or state agency - they just follow directions and then they lose all their money.  

II mean how many people here even know that there are such things as Bitcoin Kiosk in gas stations?  

So gift cards today and bitcoin tomorrow and then who knows what avenues scammers will take in the future -