My MIL is the victim of a gift card scam beginning on Friday. She said she was contacted by a company who liked her reviews online and wants to pay her to mystery shop. She received the first check on Friday for $2200. She deposited the check, withdrew cash, and purchased $1800 worth of eBay gift cards which she said she mailed to the salvation army. She got to keep the rest of the money for herself if she bought $50 worth of items at Walgreens and wrote a review about it. Monday, she received a larger check. Same scenario. I found out about this last night. She has deposited over $5k in checks, purchased $4200 worth of gift cards in cash and mailed them to the "salvation army." By the time I found out, it had already been done. I explained to her that the checks are going to reverse and she will owe the bank $5k plus. She does not believe me. I begged her to contact the bank asap and she became angry and won't speak to me anymore. My husband handles her with kid gloves, so she told him today she received another check and plans to cash it.
Could I call her bank and explain she is being scammed and doesn't believe us? Could she get in trouble for fraud? Would the bank even take me seriously?
I'm sorry, I am not thinking straight. I am so upset. This is going to cost my in laws their entire savings if she continues. We live in a rural area, it is a local bank and not a national one. It will take longer for these checks to clear. I am just sick.
Submitted October 15, 2019 at 08:40PM by Fluffeevee https://ift.tt/2pjDatz
