Are you being scammed? Here's how to know and what to do

The call, text or email might seem on the up and up at first.

Experts say it’s a red flag that you’re about to be scammed.

But the sad thing is, a lot of people don’t.

Millions of dollars are stolen each year throughgift card scams.

Scammers love gift cards because they’re easy for victims to buy but hard to trace.

“Once they’re gone, they’re gone.”

So heed this message if nothing else:No legitimate business will ever ask for payment in gift cards.

Neither will any government agency, lawyer, tech support professional or online dating site.

If someone asks you to pay them in gift cards, just hang up.

In some cases, scammers will convince victims that they’re going to send them money, Couch said.

Then they’ll ask the victims to access to their bank account to check that the transfer went through.

Then the scammers will ask for a refund of the difference in the form of gift cards.

But in reality, that transferred money doesn’t exist.

Why gift cards?

And unlike with credit cards, where charges can be reversed, there aren’t any built-in consumer protections.

Once a card is used, the money is gone for good.

Giving the entity that’s being impersonated a heads-up can be helpful, too.

And if you do think your work computer has been infected through the scam, contact your IT department.

As for getting your money back, that’sjust not going to happen.

As Grafi notes, once the money on your card is gone, it’s gone.