It’s the season of giving and scams are ramping up as more people begin to get their holiday shopping done.
Gift cards are a popular stocking stuffer or last-minute gift, but according to experts, they could be the easiest way to spoil an otherwise thoughtful gesture.
Scammers will discreetly break into the gift card packaging while they are still on the store rack and steal the information before repackaging the card. They are then able to plug the numbers into a computer with special software that alerts them when a card has been purchased and activated.
“30% of us have either given or received a gift card with no value on it and that’s up 21% from two years ago,” said Kathy Stokes, director of the fraud prevention program with AARP.
Latonya Jackson fell victim to the scam around last Thanksgiving after gifting multiple cards to the community.
“They were expecting to buy maybe their Thanksgiving meal with the gift card we gave them,” said Jackson. “We got calls the following week like right before Thanksgiving, that some of the cards, you know, there was nothing on there. It was very horrible and it was very embarrassing too.”
Experts say the best way to prevent falling victim to the crime is to avoid big kiosks where it’s easy for a scammer to tamper with the cards and preferably buy cards that are locked up or behind the cashier. Another recommendation is to send the gift card electronically through email or text.