Don’t Be Taken By This New Sneaky Office Scam

The scammers out there are clearly not running out of new ways to try and get money from unsuspecting victims.

A Colorado business was recently scammed out of $500 with this office scheme and learned a valuable lesson. Here's what happened.

A group of management level employees received what looked like an urgent email from their boss. The email stated that he needed someone to go buy five $100 gift cards and send the codes to one of his clients.

Of course, everyone in the office was extremely busy and so one employee took on the responsibility of fulfilling the requested task from the boss. The employee purchased the gift cards and then texted the codes to the phone number given in the email by the boss.

At this point, a text message came back requesting five more gift cards. This is what raised the red flag. The employees decided they better call the boss and verify the validity of the request. Turns out, neither request for gift cards came from him, though the email clearly appeared to have come from him.

A scam report was filed, but the store where the gift cards were purchases said there was nothing they could do, and could not refund the money. The police were contacted, but they said they couldn't trace the number because it was fake and originating from an anonymous app.

The company is out $500 and learned a costly lesson, and the rest of us are reminded to be extra careful when it comes to requests for cash or gift cards - even when it appears to be from a legitimate source. When in doubt, double check the source!