University Technology Services has seen an uptick in gift card email scams recently. In the scam, the perpetrator pretends to be your supervisor or someone you know and asks that you purchase some Amazon or iTunes gift cards.
The email message may start out by saying, "I need you to pick up some Amazon gift cards in $XX increments each" or "Are you available?" The scammer then asks that you scratch the back of the gift cards and send the back codes.
In a variant of this scam, phishers posing as deans or department chairs ask professors to purchase and send photos of gift cards for Amazon or iTunes.
While there are a variety of these scams, these tips will help you stay safe:
• Review the sending email address closely to see whether it is from a calu.edu address. Many times it will not be.
• Check with the apparent sender by phone call, chat, or in person. Send a separate email to the person's official @calu.edu email address to find out if the request is valid.
• Remember that NO government agency or reputable business will EVER ask for payment with gift cards.