I have read so many of the scammers asking for payment via steam, iTunes, and other gift cards. How does that make them any actual money? Short of on selling the codes for less than their worth…

Question

I have read so many of the scammers asking for payment via steam, iTunes, and other gift cards. How does that make them any actual money? Short of on selling the codes for less than their worth…

In: 201

Answer 1

They do sell them for less, unless they have something they want to buy directly, but that is less common. Scammers overseas work on volume. Just like buying debt. You buy $100,000 in debt across 100-200 accounts for $100, then try to collect (as a collection agency) on the $100,000. You’ll might only get $5,000 for your effort, so you made $4,900 excluding hours worked.

Here is the ELI5:

Imagine you are in a playground and you have a special golden ticket that lets you buy ice cream. This golden ticket is like a gift card for Steam, iTunes, etc. Now, you do not want ice cream, but your friend does.

Your friend offers to trade you some of his marbles for your golden ticket. You agree and give him the ticket, and he gives you marbles. Now, you can trade those marbles with other kids for something you really want, like stickers or toys.

In the same way, scammers collect gift card codes and then trade them for real money or other valuable things. They might sell these codes online for less money than the actual worth of the gift card. This way, they turn something that is less useful to them (the gift card code) into something more useful (money or other goods).

So, the scammers are essentially converting these gift cards into a more liquid asset that they can easily use or sell.