How to Avoid Gift Card Scams
Author: CFC Gift Card
This Holiday season be wary of gift card scams that can turn your thoughtful gift into a costly embarrassment.
Only purchase gift cards from reputable sources. Better yet, get them directly from the store they’re from. Don’t assume that if a store has gift cards under lock and key it means they haven’t been tampered with and their numbers accessed. Carefully examine both sides of the card and look for signs of tampering such as an exposed PIN. If you find anything questionable, ask for another card and check it out, too. Repeat as many times as necessary. Online gift card purchases should be made from the website of the retailer they are intended to be used at. Never buy them on auction sites even if it looks like a great deal. Remind yourself that these cards may be stolen or counterfeit.
Keep your receipt as proof of purchase until the cards value has been exhausted. If you lose the card you may be able to show a cashier at the retailer your receipt and have them issue you a new gift card. Not every retailer will do this but many will. It’s worth asking. Have your cashier scan the card at the time of purchase to ensure that gift card you buy is valid and has the correct balance. Remember that no reputable business will require you to provide your social security number, bank account information or date of birth in order to purchase a gift card. Asking for this kind of personal data is unnecessary and has nothing to do with purchasing a gift card. You’re not applying for credit. Register the gift card if that service is offered.
Remember these tips all year long when you’re are buying gift cards for graduations, weddings, and birthdays because these scams can happen at any time. Don’t be afraid to use gift cards. Just make sure you take the time to examine gift cards before you walk away from the cashier. This won’t guarantee 100% protection against fraud but it will reduce your chances of getting burned.
Beware of New Gift Card Scam
Author: CFC Gift Card
Gift cards are expected to be popular this holiday season with an estimated $25 billion in sales, but plenty of Internet warnings have been circulated about a potential new scam. It apparently works like this: Thieves troll stores where gift cards are sold on aisles and they make note of the card number.
They then call the retailer to check on the account balance, which allows them to see if a card has been bought and activated. If they obtain the information, they shop for products online.
While some law enforcement and consumer advocacy groups have made warnings in parts of the country, Washington’s Attorney General’s Office has heard of no such scams. “It’s important to treat gift cards like cash,” said Kristin Alexander, a spokeswoman for the AG’s office. “When you buy a card, examine both sides to make sure there are no signs of tampering. And only accept cards where the number hasn’t been exposed.” Even with the concerns being raised, Alexander said she still plans on buying gift cards for Christmas. “Still, it’s worth taking precautions,” she said.
How To Buy A Gift Card Safely
Author: CFC Gift Card
Unfortunately, some people use their creativity to find ways to steal from others instead of coming up with reputable ways to make a profit. Examples of this phenomenon include gift card scams. When you purchase shopping cards to give as gifts, there are some things to keep in mind to avoid becoming the victim of such scams.
First, it is better to purchase cards directly from a store than from a website, especially if your computer is not highly secure. The numbers on the card can be intercepted. Even if this doesn’t take place, a mailed card can be stolen. Thieves often watch mail for valuable items, especially around the holidays, which may provide an opportunity to perpetrate gift card scams.
There are a lot of people buying and selling gift cards on Craigslist. BE CAREFUL!
When purchasing shopping cards in a store, remember that those within reach of customers are usually the most vulnerable to gift card scams. A deceptive individual may simply write down the numbers on new cards and then continue calling the help center to see when one has been activated. He or she may then use that number to make purchases online. When you or someone you have given a gift card to attempts to use it, the balance may be well below the expected amount, if not maxed out completely.
Other methods of gift card scams include switching cards that come in decorative holders or envelopes. This type often has the bar-code on the back of the envelope. A scam artist can simply remove the new card and place an old one inside. When the cashier rings it up, the new card is activated with the amount you asked to have loaded onto the card. The scam artist has access to that money and the card you have is worthless.
If you purchase a gift card from a rack, ask the cashier to check the number on the card against the bar-code. You can also ask the cashier to immediately check the balance and make sure the correct amount is on the card you purchased. Make sure personal identification numbers are not exposed, as this could be a sign of gift card scams.
Many cards include a toll free number on the back and others provide a website where you can register your card. You can call or login to check the balance, or to report lost or stolen cards as well as gift card scams. Be sure to keep your receipt, and if you believe you or someone you know has been taken by scams, please report the loss as soon as possible by calling or visiting the store’s website.
Theft and fraud are not the only gift card scams out there. Some stores also place an expiration date on cards that you may not notice. If the recipient doesn’t use the card in the allotted time, he or she will lose the entire amount, even though his or her intended purchases were prepaid. Some states have passed laws disallowing expiration dates on prepaid cards and gift certificates. Some allow it only after five or more years, and many ensure that retailers provide full disclosure of expiration policies. Still, it makes sense to check it out and to follow these other tips so people cannot take advantage of you if you purchase gift cards.
Gift Card Fraud
Author: CFC Gift Card
Be careful when selecting gift cards for your friends and loved ones. Crooks have learned how to exploit this popular form of gift-giving through tampering, trickery and outright theft.
Even when the Holiday season is over, gift card sales are a year round business for many retailers. Because of this we want to bring gift card scams to your attention. These scams can drain the value right out of your card before you get to use it.
“Card Not Present” Scam
The first, and rarest (although it does occur) of these is called the Card Not Present or “CNP” scam. Swindlers record the numbers on cards offered for sale, then periodically check to see if the cards bearing those numbers have gone “live”. By “live” we mean that the cards were sold, activated and had a monetary value added to them. When they find cards that have, they use them to make online “card not present” (aka “CNP”) purchases. Using the gift card this way allows the scammer to drain them of their cash values before their intended recipients can use them.
This doesn’t work on all gift cards, however, just the ones allowing “card not present” situations such as online transactions. While a scam artist can in many cases easily physically access gift card numbers by prying the card from its packaging and putting it back once the number is written down, it’s not not easy to hide the fact that the cards’ PIN number is now visible. Once the covering has been scratched away it can’t be put back. Ironically, the packaging itself can conceal that the card has been tampered with.
If you then purchased one of these cards, the fact that it had been tampered with and its PIN number coating removed might go undetected until its recipient attempts to use it! Many people don’t understand the importance of the PIN number anyway, so a scratched off PIN coating might not raise any alarm. We suggest that consumers only purchase cards stored in secure locations that make tampering difficult. We can’t let that piece of advice go without letting you know that store clerks have also been known to engage in this scam. So purchasing gift cards stored under lock and key may reduce your chances of being ripped off but it won’t guarantee protection from this scam.
Whether you choose a gift card from a store display or have a clerk hand it to you, always take the time to examine both side of the packaging before paying for it. Better yet, remove the packaging before you leave the store. If you can see the PIN number or detect signs of tampering, don’t pay for the card or ask for another. Let the store’s management know why. If the card can’t be used for online or “card not present” purchases you don’t have to worry as much because the thief would need the card in hand to use it.
Overstated Value Scams
Another, more common form of gift card fraud, is when a reseller overstates the values of the cards they’re selling. Yet another involves thieves using stolen credit cards to load gift cards which they turn around and sell for cash.
Other ways gift cards have been abused by criminals:
- Employees at stores where gift cards are sold steal them from their displays, activate them with store scanners, then go on shopping sprees. Sometimes they use the stolen cards to purchase new cards to launder their stolen merchandise.
- Thieves pretending to be customers engage in sleight of hand by swapping blanks (previously stolen) for new cards activated by clerks during a sale, then change their minds and cancel their purchases. The clerks are clueless because they think they got the new cards back and the thief walks out of the store with the new card in their pocket.
- Stolen cards can end up on auction websites where the unsuspecting bid on them to get a good deal. The National Retail Federation advises consumers to only buy gift cards online from a reputable dealer and never through an online auction because what you bid on may well be a stolen or counterfeit gift card.
- Crooks will carefully slit open bar code-bearing gift card packaging to remove new, unsold cards and replace them with cards that have had their funds drained. When these “empty” cards are sold, the activation of the packaging’s bard code loads the real card (in a thief’s possession) with the funds. Imagine the fun when the card’s recipient attempts to use the card.
How to avoid gift card scams
- Only purchase gift cards from reputable sources. Better yet, get them directly from the store they’re from.
- Don’t assume that if a store has gift cards under lock and key it means they haven’t been tampered with and their numbers accessed. Carefully examine both sides of the card and look for signs of tampering such as an exposed PIN. If you find anything questionable, ask for another card and check it out, too. Repeat as many times as necessary.
- Online gift card purchases should be made from the website of the retailer they are intended to be used at. Never buy them on auction sites even if it looks like a great deal. Remind yourself that these cards may be stolen or counterfeit.
- Keep your receipt as proof of purchase until the cards value has been exhausted. If you lose the card you may be able to show a cashier at the retailer your receipt and have them issue you a new gift card. Not every retailer will do this but many will. It’s worth asking.
- Have your cashier scan the card at the time of purchase to ensure that gift card you buy is valid and has the correct balance.
- Remember that no reputable business will require you to provide your social security number, bank account information or date of birth in order to purchase a gift card. Asking for this kind of personal data is unnecessary and has nothing to do with purchasing a gift card. You’re not applying for credit.
- Register the gift card if that service is offered.
Thank You for Your business,
CFC Gift Card