Usually, buying a gift card is a simple transaction. You pick the one for the store the recipient would like best, or a Visa Vanilla if you want to give them the most choice, and head over to the checkout line where the cashier activates it for you. Simple, right? Well, not always. One Walmart shopper says trying to buy seven gift cards for the busy “Maycember” season almost turned out to be more hassle than it’s worth.
‘Who knew buying gift cards would be this intense?’
In a viral video, TikToker Twin Mom Life (@lifeinlincoln) says when she went to the cash register with her stack of gift cards, the cashier told her she would have to check out at customer service to buy “that many.” She obliged and was surprised when the worker began asking her a series of seemingly invasive questions.
“He looks at me and he was like, ‘Who are these for?’” the TikToker reports. She thought it was none of his business, but responded that they were for “gifts.” “It’s Maycember,” she reasons. Maycember refers to the frenzied time at the end of the school year, full of school events, sports tournaments, final projects, and celebrations. “They’re for gifts—for the graduation, for Teacher Appreciation,” the TikToker says.
The worker then asks, “Who is telling you to buy these?” to which the TikToker responds, “No one.” He asks her if she feels like she is being scammed. “Yes,” she thought. She is being scammed by a system that underpays teachers, forcing her to buy gift cards to show appreciation, which she is admittedly happy to do because they work so hard.
She admits that she understands some people who get scammed are asked to buy multiple gift cards, but the interaction still felt “crazy” to her.
“Who is not buying a giant stack of gift cards right now?” she questions.
Her frustration is understandable. As a Costco customer who bought well over seven gift cards in December, I do not recall getting the third degree, though I was directed to the customer service desk to complete my purchase. It’s possible that the more well-known holiday season made it evident I was buying gifts for loved ones, but who’s to say? Perhaps the employee simply wasn’t doing as good a job as the Walmart one. Indeed, many commenters said that, inconvenience aside, the worker was acting in the TikToker’s best interest.
Workers chime in on Walmart controversy
“No need to get angry,” user Zoe Cantu responded. “You wouldn’t believe how many people get scammed. I work in at a major grocery store in Texas. It’s stand protocol to ask a series of question to prevent anyone from getting Scammed. We have to ask.”
“As a bank teller, be thankful he thought to ask you,” user Brittany W Taylor wrote. “I see it every day, ppl getting scammed by this scheme.”
Another former bank teller commented a horror story: “I used to work at a bank and a customer got scammed for 15k in one afternoon buying gift cards and bitcoin,” they wrote. “The gift card scams are REALLY common.”
A grocery store worker echoed this sentiment. “I work grocery and I stop tons of people from getting scammed,” they said. “I had one guy refuse to listen to me and he lost 1,500$. He came back and apologized.”
How is buying a gift card a scam?
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) states, “Only scammers will tell you to buy a gift card, like a Google Play or Apple Card, and give them the numbers off the back of the card. No matter what they say, that’s a scam. No real business or government agency will ever tell you to buy a gift card to pay them. Always keep a copy of your gift card and store receipt. Use them to report gift card scams to the gift card company and ask for your money back.”
Gift card scams begin with a call, text, or social media message.
@lifeinlincoln Who knew buying gift cards would be this intense #walmart #maycember #teacherappreciation #gradgifts #momlife ♬ original sound – Twin Mom Life
Common gift card scams include:
- Scammers saying they’re from the government
- Scammers saying they’re from tech support
- Scammers saying they’re a loved one with an emergency
- Scammers saying you’ve won a prize
- Scammers saying they’re from a utility company
- Scammers chatting with you on a dating app and then asking for money
- Scammers sending you a check for a large amount of money
If you’ve fallen victim to a gift card scam, the FTC recommends reporting it to the gift card company, asking for your money back, and reporting the scam to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
The Mary Sue contacted Twin Mom Life via TikTok comment. It contacted Walmart via media contact form.
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