A “Secret Santa” around the office, or with friends and family can be fun. A gift exchange among online friends you haven’t met, well, that’s a little different and carries a heftier consequence. These gift exchanges, while they look like innocent fun, are really pyramid schemes – and are considered illegal.
The “Secret Sister” gift exchange campaign quickly became popular several years ago through Facebook posts promising participants would receive up to 36 gifts, in exchange for sending one gift. Each holiday season, the scheme pops back up. A newer version of this scam revolves around exchanging bottles of wine; another suggests purchasing $10 gifts online. You might see references to receiving “happy mail” or doing the exchange “for the good of the sisterhood.” During the 2021 holiday season, be aware of variations of this theme that may crop up on social media.
How the Scam Works
The scheme starts with a convincing invitation, either by email or social media to sign up for what seems like a great, fun program. All you must do is provide your name and address and personal information of a few additional friends, and tack this information on to a list that’s already started of people you’ve never met on the internet. Next, it’s your turn to send an email or social media invitation to send a modest gift or bottle of wine to a stranger along with their friends, family and contacts.
A newer twist on the idea asks you to give your etransfer email and asks users to pick a name off of a list and send money to strangers, to “pay it forward.”
There was even another new twist called “Secret Santa Dog” where you are asked to buy a $10 gift for a “secret dog.”
In all of these versions, you give away your personal information, and you’re left with buying and shipping gifts or money to unknown individuals, in hopes that the favor is reciprocated by receiving the promised number of gifts in return. Unfortunately, it doesn’t happen. Just like any other pyramid scheme, it relies on the recruitment of individuals to keep the scam afloat. Once people stop participating in the gift exchange, the gift supply stops as well, and leaves hundreds of disappointed people without their promised gifts or cash.
Send your scam story to: rahnl@windomnews.com, or call 507-831-3455. Stories will appear in an upcoming edition and in a Thursday website report. By sharing your story, you may prevent others from being scammed.
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