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Man says scammer tricked him into buying $13,000 in gift cards over 2 days

By Jason Stoogenke, wsoctv.com
By Jason Stoogenke, wsoctv.com

Dan Haseley said a scammer called his wife claiming to be with Microsoft and said there was problem with his Discover card.

Haseley said, now, it seems odd Microsoft would know about Discover's business, but he went along with it at the time.

He said the scammer passed him off to another scammer who said she was with Discover.  "We were in a panic," he said.  "And we trusted her."

[ALSO READ: Watch out for thieves stealing money right off your gift card]

Haseley told Action 9 the woman told him there was a bogus charge on his Discover card and that he could clear it up by paying, which he realized didn't make much sense, but he just wanted the situation fixed.

According to Haseley, the scammer made him stay on the phone and drive around for hours -- to Sam's Club, Game Stop, Walmart and Nordstrom -- buying gift cards, scratching off the backs and reading the numbers over the phone to the scammer.

"We just blindly followed her," he said.

Haseley said eventually she let him off the phone, and he still didn't realize he'd been scammed.

But, he told Action 9's Jason Stoogenke, she called back the next day.

Looking back, he said he doesn't know why, but he went to Best Buy, and back to Game Stop and Walmart to buy more gift cards.

Haseley said he spent $13,500 over the two days.

"I was an idiot," he said.

[ALSO READ: Victim says she paid scammers $15,000 and drove overnight to DC to do ‘community service']

Haseley said he doesn't know why the scammers picked him or how they knew what type of credit card he had.

He filed a police report, but the reality is he may never see that money again.

Be suspicious if someone:

  • Calls you out of the blue
  • Says he or she is with a company you use or the government
  • Doesn't let you off the phone easily
  • Wants you to pay for something, especially using gift cards.

If you think the caller may be telling the truth, he or she will let you hang up and check on your own.

If you do call, don't trust the phone number on the Caller ID.  Scammers spoof those numbers to look like the right company or agency.

Make sure you look up the right number yourself.

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