Federal judge rules Google not responsible for refunding gift card scam victims

What conscionable happened? Gift paper scams are a celebrated maneuver utilized by scammers, who instrumentality group into buying nan cards and providing nan codes they incorporate truthful nan criminals tin entree nan money without a trace. Companies specified arsenic Google make a committee connected these gift paper purchases, and according to a suit outcome, they person nary responsibility to refund victims.

The communicative starts successful April 2021 erstwhile Brownsville, Indiana resident Judy May fell unfortunate to a scammer posing arsenic a comparative who told her she was eligible for national assistance money if she bought Google Play gift cards.

May was told she needed to nonstop codes from nan backmost of nan gift cards to screen definite costs upfront to person same-day transportation of nan assistance money. She says she mislaid $1,000 because of nan scam – money Google refused to refund.

May launched a projected class-action suit against Google that accused nan patient of illegally profiting from nan scams by refusing to refund victims. The suit besides claimed that Google engaged successful a scope of unfair practices and should spot warnings connected its gift cards informing buyers of imaginable scams.

US District Judge Beth Labson Freeman dismissed nan suit this week. The judge said that it was nan scammers, not Google, who persuaded May to bargain nan cards, adding that nan plaintiff had grounded to show that Google knew it was receiving stolen costs aliases caused nan losses.

Google receives 15% to 30% commissions connected gift paper purchases. Judge Freeman said nan tech elephantine was not liable for keeping nan money arsenic Google's behaviour was unrelated to nan original fraud.

Freeman besides said Google did not prosecute successful unfair practices and agreed pinch nan company's position that nan costs were not considered stolen erstwhile May purchased nan cards.

May besides grounded to beryllium that Google deployed exertion to observe scams erstwhile her purchases were made.

Freeman ruled that "May suffered economical harm because of third-party scammers' fraudulent inducement, not Google's omission aliases misrepresentation."

Freeman said May could effort to refile an amended suit wrong nan adjacent 45 days, but dismissed a declare seeking triple damages arsenic nan title "failed to show a likelihood that May will beryllium a unfortunate of gift paper scams again fixed her consciousness of specified scams."

According to nan FTC, Americans mislaid $217 cardinal successful gift paper aliases reload paper fraud past year, and that only includes nan cases that were reported, meaning nan existent magnitude is apt overmuch higher. May said Google Play cards relationship for 20% of gift paper scams.