Scam: Entrepreneur loses 700 euros in clever gift card fraud

Finnish entrepreneur Nina Luukkonen fell victim to a cunning gift card scam, losing 700 euros after a seemingly urgent email request.

“

Usually, I am very careful with these things and check the email address. This time it was a total brain fart.

Luukkonen was preparing to leave for a work assignment when she received an email that appeared to be from a familiar acquaintance, the chairman of an association she works with. The "chairman" asked Luukkonen to purchase team gift cards, leading her to buy seven 100-euro Paysafecard vouchers. After sending screenshots of these cards, she was asked to buy seven more.

Realizing she had been deceived, Luukkonen checked the sender's email address and understood she had been tricked. "Usually, I am very careful with these things and check the email address. This time it was a total brain fart," she admitted. The scammer's email was signed with the chairman's name and title, and the message emphasized urgency and unavailability, stating the sender was in a meeting and could not take calls.

“

Are you available? I have an urgent task for you. I am on my way to a meeting right now. No calls, so just reply to my email.

Luukkonen noted that the scam preyed on haste and the inability to communicate directly. "Are you available? I have an urgent task for you. I am on my way to a meeting right now. No calls, so just reply to my email." and "Great, thank you! I would like you to do this for me because I am a bit busy right now. My goal was to surprise some of our hardworking team with gift cards." The email mimicked a common phishing tactic. Luukkonen reported the incident to the police, canceled the cards, and initiated a voluntary credit freeze.

“

Great, thank you! I would like you to do this for me because I am a bit busy right now. My goal was to surprise some of our hardworking team with gift cards.