Fraudulent Gift Exchange Schemes

Have you ever participated in a gift exchange? Games like “Secret Santa” or “White Elephant” are common among friends, family, coworkers, and other groups. But a gift exchange you find online could be a scam. Worst of all, if you join it, you could be participating in an illegal scheme without even knowing it.

Here’s how it works. You receive an email or invitation from a Facebook group or Telegram channel to join a gift exchange with strangers on the internet. In some cases, you could even be invited by a real-life friend or acquaintance. The pitch sounds fun and can be very convincing, but the real goal of these groups is not to spread the gift-giving spirit. They are run by scammers, and often only ask for your name, address, and possibly a friend’s contact information so they too can join the “gift exchange.”

Next, you are told to send a gift to a stranger – sometimes called a “Secret Sister” – with the promise that another stranger will send you a gift, too. Some schemes promise that the more people you recruit, the more gifts you will receive. Sadly, targets rarely receive anything. You are just giving a scammer your private information (which increases your risk of identity theft) and a product that will likely be resold.

Gift exchange schemes work similar to a chain letter scam or pyramid scheme by taking advantage of honest consumers who do not know they are participating in a fraudulent activity. Gift exchange schemes try to emotionally manipulate you into recruiting more and more targets, but this growth never lasts forever. Eventually the scheme runs out of recruits, and potentially hundreds of people are left with less money and no gifts of their own.

Here are some holiday gifting tips to remember:

· Avoid gift exchanges with strangers.

· Do not participate in any gift exchange that asks you to recruit new members or promises more gifts if you do.

· If you become suspicious of a scam, stop participating right away and contact DATCP.