Woman out $10k after being targeted by Lowe’s gift card scheme – store said they’d help but then she lost every penny

A babysitter who lost $10,000 to scammers in a Lowe’s gift card scheme accuses the retailer of failing to assist her.

Martha Fry became alarmed when an apparent computer virus notice appeared on her PC.

The nanny from Douglas County, Colorado, was asked to phone a number that informed her that sexual content of youngsters in China had been ordered using her IP address.

She added, “I was terrified,” from her Castle Rock, Colorado, home, which is 27 miles south of Denver.

“As a nanny, I can’t be and would never want to be associated with something like that.”

The con artist persuaded Fry to visit the Lowe’s closest to her and buy five $2,000 gift cards all at once.

In an interview with Denver-based ABC affiliate Denver7, Fry claimed that when she bought $10,000 worth of gift cards, no questions were asked by Lowe’s staff.

According to Fry, a manager at Lowe’s assured her she might get her money back, but the firm has subsequently informed her that she won’t.

She was angry. “Lowe’s profits from this,” she said. “They get ten grand in a blink of an eye.”

She continued, “The loser here is the victim, and I just want the public to be aware.”

Darren Weekly, the sheriff for Douglas County, has now urged businesses to take more precautions to safeguard patrons who enter and make dubious transactions.

“It’s really incumbent upon a lot of these corporations to make sure that the front-line sales staff are trained to look out for these types of scams,” he stated.

“Daily” examples like Fry’s were being seen by his officers, he claimed.

According to Weekly, several companies have put up little warning signs in response to gift card scams.

The publication claims that the Lowe’s where Fry made her purchases has now posted a sign.

Other businesses have a cap on the total amount that clients can spend at once.

Lowe’s has been contacted by the U.S. Sun for comment.

Colorado lacks gift card consumer safeguards, in contrast to other states.

Retailers selling gift cards have been obliged by New Jersey law since 2021 to “train employees on how to identify and respond to gift card fraud.”

Gift card fraud is becoming a bigger problem, according to the American Association of Retired Persons, or AARP.

According to a 2022 survey, almost one-third of American individuals claim that they or a loved one have fallen victim to scammers that demand gift card payments.

“I think any step that we take towards saving consumers money as part of these scams would be a positive one,” expressed Mark Fetterhoff, an AARP spokesperson from Colorado.