Earlier this year, an Indiana resident, Judy May, filed a class action lawsuit against Google. The plaintiff accused the Mountain View giant of illegally profiting from the Google Play gift card scams by refusing to refund victims. Fast forward to today, the US District Judge Beth Labson Freeman has dismissed the lawsuit concluding that Google is not liable for any losses incurred by such a gift card scam.
Google wins the lawsuit filed over gift card scam
Yesterday, Reuters reported that Google won this case because the plaintiff, Judy May, failed to prove her accusations. Judy May reportedly couldn’t prove how Google was responsible for her losses. Neither was she able to prove that Google knowingly received the stolen funds in front of the court.
The Judge also said that Google was not liable for keeping the standard 15% to 30% commission on purchases made by the scammer with the gift cards. That’s because this practice from Google was unrelated to the initial fraud.
The plaintiff, Judy May, suffered a loss of $1,000 after falling victim to a gift card scam in April 2021. The scammer posing as her relative tricked May into buying Google Play gift cards saying she might get federal grant money. Sadly, May not only bought the gift cards but also provided the gift card codes to the scammer who then used them to make purchases.
What was the lawsuit about
The lawsuit argued that the tech giant should have warned consumers about gift card scams. And, that those asking for payment with cards could be scammers. Although the District Court Judge dismissed the lawsuit, Judy May still has the option to refile her case. However, the judge has permanently dismissed her claims for triple damages.
Well, this is just one case. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Americans alone have lost $217 million in gift card or reload card fraud. Moreover, the actual amount might be much higher as the number is only an estimation based on reported cases.