It’s been around for years, but people are still falling for it. You get an urgent call from the IRS, your utility company, a hospital or police station, Amazon, or other companies or agencies claiming you owe money. If you don’t pay them this instant, they will shut down your service, arrest you, lock up a loved one, take your house, your car, your hamster, your first born. Payment must be made now, and it must be made with a gift card. A gift card? No. No legitimate organization works that way. Only scammers want gift cards. They take it, spend it immediately, and poof, they’re gone.

One of the banks I close for has info cards in their lobby regarding these scams. For some people, it seems obvious. For others, not so much: