HOUSTON – Curtis Mayfield thought the pitch sounded decent: He got a call on his cellphone from a man claiming he had been chosen to receive a government grant for $7,000 — but he'd have to pay to get the money.
Mayfield, of Dickinson, told Channel 2 Investigates what the caller said.
“‘It's going to cost you $500,’” he recalled.
The caller told Mayfield to go to Walgreens and pick up iTunes gift cards to make the payment. Then, Mayfield called the company back to cash in on his grant.
“They told me, ‘The money is going to be in your account,’” Mayfield said.
He gave the caller the codes on the back of the gift cards, and that was all the scammers needed. With the codes, they had access to his money.
The government grant didn't exist.
“They got me for at least $1,750,” Mayfield said. “And I'm on disability.”
Scammers are turning to iTunes cards because they're hard to track, said Susan Burdick, with the Houston Better Business Bureau.
“The green-dot card was one that they did — Western Union,” Burdick said. “So, this is just an updated, if you will, same old scam. A lot of times, they'll pretend they're a debt collector or they're the IRS calling and they're telling the consumer they can go ahead and buy the iTunes gift card and give them the PIN off the back and that way it's completely untraceable.”
The government will never ask you to use a gift card as a form of payment, Burdick said.
“They may take the credit card over the phone or take your check, but they're not going to ask you to go the store and ask you to buy an iTunes gift card,” Burdick said.
Mayfield said he's embarrassed and ashamed of the situation. But he chose to come forward to warn others. His first piece of advice? Don't answer calls from unknown numbers.
“It was a big lesson learned from all of this,” he said. “I just want to help other people. I don't want this to happen, because there are other people in worse shape than I am.”
Mayfield filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, which tracks these type of scams. If you've received a call like this, and you'd like to file a complaint, click here.