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AARP Iowa Calling On Legislators To Crack Down On Credit Card Scams

February 07, 2024 Steve Schwaller

(Des Moines)– A-A-R-P Iowa is calling on lawmakers to help prevent gift-card scams during this year’s legislative session.

Impostor scams have been the number one consumer fraud scam in Iowa for nine years running and commonly seek payment via gift cards. A-A-R-P Iowa’s Paige Yontz says impostors play on a victim’s fears, usually tied to family members…

“A gift-card scams takes place when somebody reaches out and says, ‘Hey, your son or daughter is in trouble. They’re in jail, perhaps, and the fastest way to get them out is to go buy a gift card and read me the numbers on the back so I can get them out.’ “

While it may sound like common sense not to do that, Yontz says victims often panic and follow the impostor’s orders. A-A-R-P Iowa is pushing for a measure designed to educate people about gift card scams and encourages consumers to think twice before falling victim. Yontz says the measure being considered would require retailers to help educate consumers at the point of sale…

“Legislation that would require any retailer who sells a gift card other than their own to post a notice about what a gift card scam is and how to contact the A.G.’s Consumer Protection Division for help. “

A-A-R-P reports one in three people say they know someone who has been the target of a gift-card scam, and one in four adults say they aren’t aware that being asked to send money via a gift card is fraudulent.

Companion bills await Iowa House and Senate subcommittee action.

(Courtesy Iowa News Service)