Gift Card Scam Proceeds Closing In On $1 Million In Tennessee

ROGERSVILLE — Hawkins County had its share of gift card scam victims in 2018, but Sheriff Ronnie Lawson says there’s an easy way to avoid getting ripped off. If someone you don’t know contacts you by phone, email or social media asking for money, especially via gift card or wire transfer, assume it’s a scam. Just last month, a 72-year-old Hawkins County woman was bilked out of $1,600 by thieves who contacted her claiming she was owed $399 by Microsoft. When the thieves emailed documentation that they had overpaid her by $1,600, they asked her to buy gift cards at Walmart in the amount of $1,600 and give them the numbers to settle the account. Scams closing in on $1 million Earlier this month, the Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Sentinel Network reported that Tennesseans lost more than $943,000 through prepaid gift card scams in 2018.