11/25/2023 0 Comments Holiday gift exchange illegalIt is a debt to be repaid, I hoped, in overpriced gadgetry. I was trying assuage that familiar sense of middle-class guilt- the worry that we don’t deserve the love and stability we are so fortunate to have. But as I considered the two bubbles of plastic packaging in my hands, I knew I wasn’t making this purchase for them. I wanted to show my folks how much their unyielding love and support in those financially-dependent college years meant to me. Secret Santa exchanges around the office or with friends and family can be fun and festive for the holidays, but a gift exchange among online friends or originating as a viral social media post can actually be a scam masquerading as innocent fun. It was my second year of full-time, salaried work after college. I was waiting in a Best Buy checkout line with a pair of Fitbits selected for my parents who, though known to play an inordinate amount of weekly racquet sports, have zero practical need to track the number of stairs they’ve climbed in their two-story suburban Colonial. I distinctly remember the profound sense of sadness I felt a few Decembers ago when I first realized the truth about gifts post-childhood. And in sending out these lists of quotidian trifles, you’re asking your loved ones to value their place in your life at the level of yoga mats. BAM! Behold my largesse, loved one.Īs a result, these queries almost always devolve into supply lists for daily existence - black socks, fresh bedsheets, cookware, a new vacuum - all things you would ordinarily pick up on a weekend errand if they weren’t such easily-forgettable non-essentials. And when the holidays finally arrive, I sling these oddments on bemused friends and family with all the panache of Emeril Lagasse seasoning a batch of gumbo. I snap up books and sweaters and ironically designed coffee mugs with the crazy-eyed, manic energy of a Doomsday prepper in the canned-foods aisle at Costco. On any given Saturday in the month of December, you can find me furtively scuttling around the nearest shopping mall, like the self-contradictory rat that I am. A berserker of gift-giving, you might say. I am, of course, a complete hypocrite on this front as an extremely active participant in our yearly capitalistic frenzy. Fitness watches, "New York Times" bestsellers, cotton-cashmere blends - all are more than likely destined to join a growing detritus of holidays past, archived in the back of closets. One of the big concerns is that by signing up for this, your name and address could get into the wrong hands.But most of all, I hate how the economic powers that be, the robber-barons of e-commerce, have managed to convince us, en masse, that December is the time to demonstrate our affection for one and other by way of sundries we are perfectly capable of buying for ourselves. In 2015, ABC11 asked then-North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper about the "Secret Sister Gift Exchange," and his office also said there are red flags with the gift exchange. (WTVD) - The Secret Santa gift exchange is shared on social media every year, but it's illegal and is considered a form of gambling. The BBB said the "deal" is a digital chain letter, making it an illegal scam.Īccording to the US Postal Inspector, chain letters are a form of gambling that is, "illegal if they request money or other items of value and promise a substantial return to the participants." ![]() You only have to buy ONE gift valued at at least $10 or more and send it to ONE secret sister, and you will receive 6-36 in return!" Many are quick to reply that they are 'IN,' while some ladies commented they have tried this in years past and never got a gift. ![]() I need at least six ladies to participate in a SECRET SISTER gift exchange. One post states, "Ladies.Anyone interest in a holiday gift exchange? It doesn't matter where you live you are welcome to join. 'Secret Sister' gift exchange circulating again on Facebook asks users to send one gift valued at 10 or more to get up to 36 gifts in exchange, the BBB says it's a 'pyramid scheme. However, that is not stopping the posts from spreading. The Better Business Bureau warns this is not only a scam.
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