Many of us give gift cards to our family, friends, and colleagues as presents during the holidays. But as safe as they sound, fraudsters have figured out ways to compromise them using various schemes such as false pin code stickers and buying stolen cards.
Here are a few tips to identify gift card scams and how to avoid them*:
- Don’t scratch off and reveal the card PIN until you’re ready to use it.
- Watch out for fake activation code stickers. These stickers will send money to the scammer instead of the card when it’s scanned at the register to activate it.
- When buying your gift card, check out the back of the card to make sure the PIN has not been revealed.
- Be wary of gift card reseller web sites. Some of these sites sell you stolen cards or worthless cards.
- Track your mailed gift cards. If it’s lost in transit, you’re out of luck. Keep your gift card receipt so you can report it and get it replaced.
*Charisse Jones. “‘Tis the season for gift card scams: Be on the lookout for these potential schemes.” USA Today, usatoday.com/story/money/2019/11/11/look-out-for-gift-card-scams/2521763001/. Accessed Nov. 11, 2019.