Beware of Gift Card Scams
If you’re still looking for a gift, that’s why you should avoid these grocery store gift cards, which are as tempting as they are when desperate. Several consumers reported in the Colorado Springs Gazette that they had purchased gift cards from places like Walmart and local grocery stores, but found the remainder rubbed shortly after leaving the store.
“I came home and scraped the codes, checked them on my Amazon account, and they said they were already in demand,” one donor told Gazette. “They had no money.” In the case of this particular customer, that meant the loss of $ 850 worth of Amazon purchases.
As it turns out, gift cards are not hack-proof. The scam is simple: a fraudster steals information from an unactivated gift card (including peeling or scratching a label to reveal and hide his PIN) and monitors card activity using that merchant’s website. Once it gets activated, the scammer pounces, spending the remaining balance.
Back in 2017, one security researcher detailed to Wired how some tech-savvy crooks might even use brute force or trial and error to predict the number of PIN-free gift cards in existence, as some retailers may have different cards. just a few digits. Using this technology, they then check the meaning of each number (if that card number exists) on that merchant’s website and find gold without even seeing the card or its number in person.
All in all, gift card scams have cost victims $ 74 million, according to the Federal Trade Commission , and as Christmas approaches, there’s no better time for scammers knowing these gift card aisles in grocery stores will be wiped out. If you want to avoid being scammed by purchasing a gift card, there are a few simple things to keep in mind. First, before leaving the store, always check the card for any signs of tampering (if, for example, the label covering the PIN is missing or different from any other card in the store). Keep your receipt as well, just in case.
As the Los Angeles Times recommends , you should also buy gift cards online whenever possible, rather than in stores, which can provide you with an extra layer of security. And if necessary, always take the card to the back of the rack or behind the counter to avoid tampering with the card. And keep in mind that some gift cards may be more vulnerable to hacking than others. (I suppose you’d be safer to buy a $ 5 Starbucks card over a $ 250 Best Buy card.)
And if you fall under the crosshairs of a clever fraudster, you should immediately contact this seller; The FTC has customer support line numbers for several retailers in case of fraud. In some cases, you can even get your money back if you act quickly.