The Great Macy's Gift Card Scam I explain why and how they're "giving away" gift cards! ...We've all seen the spam on MySpace, FaceBook, blogs, forums, basically
ANYWHERE where anyone can post anything... Most of us are savvy enough to not bother clicking it, knowing it's a scam...
But it's there in the back of our mind.. "Is it a scam?" Basically, yes. It is a scam.  What they're doing Technically isn't illegal. I'll explain, step by step,
exactly what these Gift Card Scam Artists are doing to make a buck out of YOU. Here's a quick run down of the scam: The Macy's Gift Card Scam Artists (and other retailer Scam Artists),
are involved in what's called "Affilliate Marketing". | The scam artist claims to only want your email address!! |
However this part of the scam is only to avoid a loophole. They are supposed to encourage you to buy a product from another
company, and they're paid a commission. Normally the comission is
rather substantial, especially for credit card applications. The scam artist encourages you to make the purchases, and in turn,
one month later, after "Verification", you apparently receive a nice
shiny $500 macy's Gift Card in the mail.... Now, on this page, i'll give the scam artist the benefit of the doubt, and assume
that the participants actually receive the card.. Here's The Gift Card Scam In A Bit More Detail... Gift Card Scam Part One:
Affilliate Marketing Ok, so i mentioned the person conducting the Gift Card Scam is involved in "Affilliate Marketing".
The are HUNDREDS of companies on the internet who advertise for most of the
companies you see and use in everyday life. These companies allow people to
sign up completely free, and place links on their own websites.
This link will display an advertisement, and if someone clicks the link and purchases
the product, the person who's website they're on, gains a comission. Example: | Bob has a website advertising "Cheap Cigars". Jane is browsing on Bob's website, and clicks a link which leads to
(for the sake of this example only) "CheapCigarHut.com". Jane makes a purchase, and receives her product. What Jane doesn't know, is that the link she clicked to get to the "Cigar Hut",
contained an 'affilliate code'.. in this case, the link may look something like:
www.CheapCigarHut.com/AfId=665774.. Because Bob has placed this link on his website, and Jane clicked it and
made a purchase, Bob receives a commission on the sale. -This is a legitimate affiliate marketing procedure.- | Ok, so we've settled that you can make money from advertising on the internet.
What does that have to do with the Gift Card Scam? Gift Card Scam Part Two:
The "Participation" Well, they ask for your email address. Seems harmless. You type in your email address,
thinking that theres not much harm they can do with that other than spam you.. Well, to your email address, they send you a list of directions. These directions are to sign
up with specific companies for specific plans and specific products. The scam artist claims
that any money you spend will be refundable etc. etc... So?? Well.. the 'domain that sends you the email is different to the 'domain' that asks you your
email address..
That is because most "affilliate marketing" companies have rules against "Incentives".
In this case, the "incentive" is a Macy's Gift Card.
To avoid this 'red tape', the domain/business that collects your details (email address) is different
to the domain/business that send to the "participation details". However, these domains/businesses
are run by the same people. By keeping them as separate "entities", it legally appears as though the 'business' sending the
"participation details" is purchasing the contact information off the original 'business', and hence
the original 'business' is not the one offering the "incentive". ...I hope that wasn't too complicated to understand ;) Gift Card Scam Part Three:
Why Do They Do It? You'll notice they force you to sign up for 'offers' for credit cards, home loan approvals etc etc!!
These aren't insignificant things!! These 'offers' are SERIOUS!! ...And they also bring in SERIOUS comission. These "Offers" are listed as:
Platinum
Gold
Silver.
You must complete a certain amount of each category to earn your gift card. So. You then go through and sign up for these apparently refundable or cancellable
plans and contracts. They tell you that you have to make a purchase on the credit card
to become "Verified". This is actually so that the advertising company knows you're using
the contract or whatnot, and then pays the comission to the Scam Artist. During the course of following the scam artists directions, you've signed up for many plans
and contracts, and the scam artist will probably have received around $3000 commission for
the purchases YOU MADE!! $3000. Wow. So let's think about that. -
YOU make purchases, and risk fraud. -
They Make $3000 Commission Off YOUR Purchases. -
Using $500 Of this $3000, the scam artists send you a "Free"
$500 Gift Card. -
You're now locked into multiple contracts and plans,
and you have many credit cards and personal loans
which you DO NOT need in the first place. -
The scam artist, for the small price of driving to their local Macy's,
has gained an easy $2500, at your expense!
| Is This Fair? Is This Legal?? It definently isn't fair. However, in a way, the scam is legal. They're not 'forcing' you to do anything, you're "participating" because you want a gift card... They're emailing you the directions, purely because the companies that pay them their
commission all have rules against using "Incentives" (ie, the Gift Card) to make people
purchase using their links.. People used to offer a small rebate on the purchase price of
a product or similar, but these scam artists have taken it to a new level. The Affilliate is not allowed to "Advertise" the incentives. Meaning, you cannot display
incentives on a webpage, which makes email perfect, because it's personally received. 
Click to read Macy's comments on the scam. Has this made you think twice about trying to get a free gift card??
...I hope so. ...If you're looking for a way to make a quick buck online,
dont bother with the gift card scam. There are a lot of ways to make money online,
and this IS NOT ONE OF THEM!! These are some other gift card scams which may work much the same way: Claim your $500 McDonalds Gift Card
Get a Free* $100 Fandango Gift Card
Free $500 Hollister Gift Card
$5.00 Wal-Mart Gift Card
Customize your Vans with a $75 Visa Gift Card
$500 MasterCard Gift Card
$500 Neiman Marcus Gift Card
Vote now for your chance to get a
$500 Visa Gift Card!
See the world with your free*
$500 Airline Gift Card.
Parents, get a $500 Pottery Barn Kids Gift Card now!
Free Schick Intuition Razor Plus $500 Visa Gift Card
Make learning fun - get a $500 Baby Einstein Gift Card now.
Don't miss your chance to get a $500 Visa Gift Card!
Do you YouTube? Answer now for your chance to get a $500 Visa Gift Card!
$500 American Express Gift Card - what would you buy?
National Tobacco Survey - Free $100 Visa Gift Card
Guess the Price - $250 Gift Card
Free $500 M.A.C Cosmetics Gift Card
$1,000 Shopping Gift Card - get one and go wild
Free $75 Visa Gift Card For Customize Vans Sneaker
Get a free $500 Macy's Gift Card - take our survey now!
Free $500 JCPenney Gift Card
Free $500 Sears Gift Card
Free $500 Kmart Gift Card
$250 Ebay Gift Certificate
Like Easter candy? Participate now for a cash card
Free $500 Steakhouse Gift Card--enjoy the finer things in life.
Get a free Victoria's Secret Gift Card a $1,000 value!
Get a $100 Valentine's Day Gift Card. See Inside.
Claim your $1,000 ExxonMobil® cash card.
Travel the world with a free $500 Southwest Airlines Gift Card!
Give your opinion for a free $500 Kmart Gift Card!
Get $500 worth of free Shopping and Dining Gift Cards!
Free $500 Big Lots Gift Card - just give us your opinion!
Set the mood with your free $500 Yankee Candle?Gift Card!
Take our National Tobacco Survey & get $100 just for voting!
Free $500 Victoria's Secret Gift Card - that'll get his attention!
Your free $500 QVC Gift Card is waiting - just take our survey!
Get your $500 A&F, Gap or Express Gift Card on us!
Make the deal to win your $500 Gas Gift Card now!
Get your Free $500 OLD NAVY Gift Card!
Coffee Junkies, get your free* $500 Starbucks Gift Card now.
Go wild on spring break with a free* $500 Gap Gift Card.
Passing up a free* $500 Visa Gift Card
Kick it up a notch with your free* $500 Chili's Gift Card.
Get fresh finds for spring with a free* $500 gift card.
Take a pop survey and get a free* $100 gift card!
Get a free* $100 restaurant gift card.
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