HSM IT ServicesCEO and Gift Card Fraud
Scammers pose as a senior leader and urgently ask staff to buy gift cards or send money, counting on deference and pressure to skip verification.
Layer 8: People Medium risk
How it works
In this scam, an employee receives a message that appears to come from the owner, president or a director. It is often sent from a free email account or a text message, with an explanation such as being stuck in a meeting or travelling. The request starts small and friendly, then turns to an urgent favour: buy several gift cards for a client appreciation or staff reward and send photos of the codes.
Attackers find names and titles on company websites and social media, and they often target newer employees who are eager to help and less familiar with how leaders normally communicate. Gift cards are attractive to criminals because the value can be used or resold almost instantly and is very hard to trace or recover. Variations ask for wire transfers or payroll changes instead.
Warning signs
- A leader asking for gift cards, especially by text or personal email
- Requests to keep the task confidential or surprise others
- Claims that the sender cannot take a call right now
- A new or unknown phone number or email address
- Requests to scratch off and photograph card codes
How to defend against it
- Set a clear policy that leaders never request gift cards by message
- Encourage staff to verify any unusual request by phone
- Flag external emails that use internal display names
- Include this scam in onboarding and awareness training
- Limit staff contact details published online
If it happens to you
- Stop and do not send any further codes or funds
- Contact the gift card issuer immediately with receipts
- Report the incident to your manager and IT
- Report to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre
If you think this is happening right now, call our incident line at 1-800-555-0188. We answer 24 hours a day, whether or not you are a client. What to do while you wait.