I just started my first job out of college 3 weeks ago and I’ll admit, I’m not technically savvy at all. I work for a small marketing agency as an office manager/customer service specialist where I do a bit of everything. I regularly run personal errands for the boss. I feel like an old lady sometimes with my understanding of the online systems. It has been a rough week running on less than 5 hours of sleep a night this week. It was super busy today.
I got a very legit looking email from my “boss” saying that he wanted me to buy 3 gift cards worth $100 to send to our new clients in a marketing package. The thing is that our company does this stuff all the time. We regularly do gift card giveaways and I’m responsible for purchasing them. So it wasn’t a big deal for me, “he” said he’d pay me back on my personal debit card. So I did it and told one of my coworkers. No issues. About an hour later on my way back, I got a call from a different coworker saying that it was a scam and this happens to most new hires when the boss goes out on vacation.
The cards are unopened/not scratched off but still can’t be returned. Unfortunately the company said they have no use for the cards and so now I’m stuck with $300 in Google play and apple gift cards. My coworker offered to buy them but I don’t want him to do that, he’s totally innocent in all this and has been such a helpful friend to me so far. I partially think this is on the company for having a shit security system and not warning me about these emails. It was stupid on my part too though, I should have looked more closely. If I bring it up to the boss instead of HR I’m worried I’ll get scolded and told off for being so dumb. What should I do?