Facebook users are warned to beware of a frequent scam that offers as many as 36 gifts in exchange for buying a stranger a $10 gift.
Not unlike many offers that seem too good to be true, the “Secret Sister” gift exchange is simply one of many scams. It exploits people by making a social media post about the exchange and inviting friends to join the “secret gift exchange,” through buying a gift worth at least $10.
“You only have to buy one gift, and send it to one secret sister, and you will receive 6-36 in return!” the Secret Sister Gift Exchange said on Facebook.
Several police departments across the nation ask Facebook users to visit the Better Business Bureau website, which confirms “it’s an illegal scam.”
“This type of gift exchange may seem reasonable enough in theory: six friends invite six more friends, who all send gifts to the participant in spot one before that person’s named is removed. This process repeats itself with the participant in the second spot, and so on,” the bureau said on its website.
“Of course, starting this gift exchange comes with a catch—you need to disclose your personal information, such as your home address. This is a typical pyramid scheme. This is on Facebook instead of the old way of using letters, because social media allows it to spread a lot faster. Pyramid schemes are illegal either by mail or on social media, if money or other items of value are requested with assurance of a sizeable return for those who participate.”
If in Doubt Ask
Anyone who receives a chain letter, whether online or offline, can contact the Better Business Bureau to ascertain whether it is legitimate. The bureau generally advises people to never provide personal information to strangers.
Even though information is widely available, the gift exchange reappears every winter ahead of Christmas, and continues to swindle people. Similar exchanges, including a so-called “wine exchange,” are also scams according to the bureau.
Anyone found to be the originator of a chain letter scheme may in some cases face criminal charges.
Chain letters “are illegal if they request money or other items of value, and promise a substantial return to the participants,” the U.S. Postal Inspection Service said.
“Chain letters are a form of gambling, and sending them through the mail (or delivering them in person or by computer, but mailing money to participate) violates Title 18, United States Code, Section 1302, the Postal Lottery Statute.”
Chain letters that ask for items of minor value, like picture postcards or recipes, may be mailed since such items are not considered by law to be of higher value.
Anyone who has a chain letter can drop it off at their nearest post office, or mail it to a postal inspector after writing on the envelope: “I received this in the mail, and believe it may be illegal.”
