Gift Card Scams

December 21, 2023 – KFDX (NBC)

KFDX3 NBC talked to security expert Chris Peltz from GuidePoint Security about a scam called card draining. Chris said card draining is a series of scams that target gift cards, especially this time of year. Scammers will replace a barcode on the back of a card with a card they have. We think we’re adding value to the card we’re buying, but actually adding value to a scammers card. Another popular scam is stealing the card information off a card and putting it back on the shelf. So when we purchase and add value to that card, they can quickly use that value before our recipient gets it.

Chris said there are a number of steps we can take to protect ourselves against gift card scams. Buy gift cards straight from the retailer online, digital gift cards are a little harder to tamper with. If you do need to buy physical gift cards, check the packaging, make sure that it’s not bent or tampered with that all the seals are there and that it doesn’t look like any new stickers have been added. Always keep your gift card receipts, so if there’s an issue you can go back to the retailer.

If you feel that you’ve been the victim of a gift card scam, you can report it to your attorney general or the FTC.