The current COVID-19 Pandemic has many people locked up at home and seeking an escape. While scrolling through social media, you come across a post: “Secret Sister’s Gift Exchange” or “Wine Lover’s Exchange” the post promises with a $10 gift or $15 bottle of wine you send out, you will receive a bounty in return. What harm could there be in partaking in a gift exchange to lift one’s spirits during these troubling times?
Before you hop on board with the Secret Sister’s Gift Exchange or Wine lover’s exchanges, read the following message!
STOP! DO NOT DO IT!
An online “Secret Sister’s Gift Exchange” or “Wine Lover’s Exchange” with strangers online is quite different from your office’s Secret Santa, where each person gets one gift for a person and receives one in return. This online exchange is inviting you to partake in the classification of a pyramid scheme with people you do not know while sharing your personal information!
These exchanges classifying as a pyramid scheme because one accepts an invitation to participate, provide personal information, and sends an item(s) with the promise of receiving a large yield of gifts in return. However, the return of items requires recruiting others to keep the scam going, many times by re-sharing the post again on social media. Once you ship out the gift, you wait for yours to start arriving. However, this does not occur because others fail to continue recruiting more people to participate in the scheme and the gift supply stops. You and many others are left disappointed because the promised gifts never come.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Services explain that these gift exchanges considering a form of gambling and that participants could be subject to penalties such as jail time, fines, or a lawsuit for mail fraud. You should be aware that pyramid schemes are illegal in the US and Canada.
While the idea seems like innocent fun intended to brighten the dark days of COVID isolation, don’t fall victim to this scheme!
When you see a friend or family member share this type of post on social media, don’t engage, it is best to ignore the post or, you may choose to send a private message to the individual, letting them know the post is illegal. You can also report the scam on social media. For Facebook, click the three dots in the top right corner of the post, then select find support or report post. On Instagram, click the three dots in the top right corner and select Report. Never give out your personal information to strangers because this opens you up to the possibility of security breaches. Beware of false claims, claims that seem too good to be true, usually are!
You should report this fraud to the US Postal Inspector Service and the BBB by visiting bbb.org/ScamTracker.
Anytime you are unsure if something is a scam, call our office, 716-858-6169. We are here to help!
