(TNS) — Buyer beware this holiday season.
Authorities are warning consumers nationwide to watch out about a “gift card draining” scam that’s literally draining gift card purchases at retailers and leaving them worthless.
It’s all a trick used to steal money from gift cards before you even get the chance to use them, according to media reports.
Falling victim to the scam was Colorado shopper Suzanne Gdovic, who bought a $200 Target gift card for a friend whose daughter was having a baby.
“I was really shocked by it,” Gdovic told Fox & Friends First on Monday. “I gave it to her. She went to Target to try to use it, and she was at the cash register checking out, and she was told there was a zero balance on the card and was also told that the gift card was assigned to another person’s account. There was no money there for her to use for all of the things that she was buying for the new baby.”
Once the friend told Gdovic about what happened, Gdovic then spoke to a store manager who informed her about the nationwide scam.
“My particular gift card, the back of it was exposed, so it was very easy for them to access the information off the back of the card. There was a silver lining on there. That protective security code had been scratched off, numbers were taken when they took that gift card out of the store. Then they expertly [put] back on that silver lining,” she said to Fox & Friends First.
“I picked it up. They had all the information. I loaded it, and when they have an elaborate scheme [they use] the computer with the coding to figure out when you put the money on the card, and then they stole that money off the card way before she went into the store to use it.”
But Gdovic wasn’t the only one scammed out of her money.
The Better Business Bureau revealed that 50 percent more people reported gift card fraud this year as compared to last year.
Nicole Cordero from the Better Business Bureau of Eastern Carolinas explained to WRAL News that the tactic fools shoppers into thinking they’re adding value to the card they’re buying, but little do they know, it transfers the money to the scammers instead.
“One thing scammers are doing is they are taking different barcodes [and] putting them on top of the barcodes on the back of the gift card,” Cordero said to the news outlet.
Barry Duggan, a patrol sergeant with the Pinole Police Department in California, explained another method thieves are using to nab gift card codes, according to a report from Patch.
“Somebody was taking [gift] cards from the store without paying for them and without loading them up and what they do is they heat up these envelopes to where they can open them as carefully as they can, remove the card and actually cut the top of the card off,” he said in a now viral video.
As a result, the scammer keeps the portion of the card that contains the code and places the bottom portion back into the envelope before gluing the envelope shut once again.
“Just like that, you have a brand new gift card that you think that you’re getting for your person for Christmas,” Duggan said.
So, when it comes to shoppers protecting themselves, Cordero advises shoppers to observe the package the gift card comes in closely.
“[They are] going to have to stop and look and see if the packaging is intact,” Cordero said to WRAL News. “See if it’s ripped or wrinkled where the barcode is and that a scammer hasn’t been there first.
She also suggested that shoppers should run their finger over the back of the gift card to see if there’s a sticker on top.
Other experts are urging shoppers to make sure there are no scuff marks on barcodes or security codes.
These preventative measures could potentially save shoppers from losing hundreds or thousands of dollars, the outlet added.
Another helpful tip experts are suggesting is to purchase gift cards near the register or behind the counter and to constantly check balances, WRAL News reported.
As for Gdovic, she was fortunate enough to eventually get her $200 back from Target. She gave shoppers advice for purchasing gift cards as well, advising them to photocopy the cards they purchase and to keep all receipts.
“When you do make that phone call you need to be able to send them all of this information and be persistent and don’t take no for an answer. Also, you can dispute the charge on your credit card, and they’re very helpful because they consider this fraud and theft, and they will dispute that charge until you’re able to resolve it. But I was able to get that gift card replaced by Target gift card services,” she said to Fox & Friends First.
