Security News > 2024 > March > Lawsuit claims gift card fraud is the gift that keeps on giving, to Google
A class action complaint [PDF], filed Tuesday in federal court for the District of Northern California, claims that "Over nearly a decade, Google has knowingly kept millions of dollars in stolen money from victims of gift card scams who purchased Google Play gift cards."
Filed on behalf of Indiana resident Judy May, the suit alleges Google keeps funds from stolen Google Play gift cards - either by taking its 15-30 percent commission from payments to Google Play app developers made with fraudulently obtained gift cards, or by withholding all funds paid via scammed gift cards for its own benefit.
Google has a support page specifically addressing Google Play gift card scams, which states that gift cards are "Non-refundable, unless required by law." The specific legal scenarios where refunds may be granted are not spelled out - but advice from Community Product Experts on the same page insists: "If you gave the codes to the scammers, those cards will already be drained and the proceeds laundered beyond recovery."
The legal filing argues that Google, through its website and gift card language, suggests "That cards will not be refunded, reloaded, or replaced, and that the only thing Google will do if a victim contacts them is investigate the scam and potentially prevent future scams."
Armed with a one-time use code that unlocks the value stored in a gift card, the scammer may purchase in-app digital goods with the funds and resell them on a third-party market or sell the unredeemed code gift card code to a third party.
Either way, Google collects a commission whenever a gift card is used to buy apps or in-app purchases on its Google Play digital bazaar.