Beware of gift card scams
Ease of use, popularity make them a target.
Con artists are making millions of dollars going to major retailers to engage in a variety of gift card scams. So shoppers need to take extra precautions when buying gift cards.
“Look for gift cards that are either near, at or behind the register, or those that need to be loaded with funds before they’re usable,” said Brian Krebs, who writes a blog called “Krebs On Security” and is author of the best-selling book “Spam Nation.”
The popularity of gift cards make them attractive targets for scammers. An AARP survey found that 70% of people plan to give them as presents.
Krebs noted that most retailers and restaurants that sell gift cards also allow you to order those cards via their websites – which might be a smarter option to avoid some types of fraud.
Con artists have engineered a way to steal information and tamper with gift cards inside the store before you buy the gift card. As a result, you must take time to examine the decal covering a PIN to make sure the PIN isn’t visible.
Remember that when it comes to decals, though, “thieves can easily scratch those off and then replace the material with identical or similar decals that are sold very cheaply by the roll online,” according to KrebsOnSecurity.com.
It’s part of a scheme where crooks can gather enough information from a gift card on the rack, go online to monitor the gift card account’s activity at the retailer’s portal and then strike once the cards are paid for and activated at the checkout register.
“Once a card is activated, thieves can encode that card’s data onto any card with a magnetic stripe and use that counterfeit to purchase merchandise at the retailer,” KrebsOnSecurity says. “The stolen goods typically are then sold online or on the street.”