I recently posted on fb in a group that helps people out, basically people donate to you for whatever you need, food, rent, etc. I feel like this is a scam, but am a little unsure So, this woman reached out, and offered to help pay off my credit card, as thats what I had posted about, she's been very nice, normally you can spot a scammer by how they type, but she has very good English, and honestly talks like everyone else I know, using "lol" and stuff like that, her fb seems real, lots of pictures, and a few public posts, such as a birthday fundraiser and all, she wants to give me her account and routing numbers so I can pay off the credit card, she did ask me to buy a steam gift card for "her nephew" which was the first red flag I've seen, so I was thinking it'd be like a "I help you, you help me, we both win" thing, she's not pushy or blowing my phone up or anything, as scammers normally do to people, it seems like a "trust building scam" I recently heard about, but wanted other opinions to be dure
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11Yes, it's a scam. It's unlikely the account number she's giving you is hers, which is why she doesn't want to be associated with any withdrawal from the account. (Assuming the bank even allows a withdrawal.) She gets the gift card paid for by the real owner of the account, and you never hear from your "benefactor" again.– chepnerFeb 9, 2022 at 19:55
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2Exactly what @chepner said above. Your gut instinct is right, be thankful you caught on before you gave anything to her! Because you would never see it again...– FlatsFeb 9, 2022 at 20:06
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2I just went ahead and blocked and reported her, thank you!– Kaitlyn JohnsonFeb 9, 2022 at 20:10
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5Someone who wants to actually give you money would simply give you money, not talk about their bank account, let alone 'steam gift cards' !– AakashMFeb 10, 2022 at 8:20
1 Answer
Of course it's a scam. Anytime someone needs you to get them a gift card it's a scam. Why would someone be willing to give you money but then want you to purchase a gift card for them? It would be far easier to just give you money and buy their own gift card if this was a legit scenario.