The Latest Scams Circulating the Consumer World. Be warned. Be informed.
December 2007
Gift Card Scams
According to Consumer Reports, gift cards are one of the top gifts for the 2007 holiday season:
1. Clothes
2. Gift cards
3. Electronics
Read on to find out about how to protect yourself from getting scammed when buying a gift card.
The Pitch
In this scam, there really isn’t a pitch. You just buy a gift card from the check stand, and give to someone as a present.
The Scam
A crook finds a store where merchandisers display gift cards on public racks. Armed with pen and paper, he or she writes down the unique gift card numbers.
A more technology-savvy crook carries a magnetic-strip scanner in his or her pocket and can quickly and discretely scan a handful of gift cards in a quiet corner of the store. The magnetic strip scanner can store dozens of gift card numbers at one time.
After stealing the numbers, the crook waits a few days, calls the gift card customer service number to see if a legitimate paying customer has added money to the card. Once the card has money on it, the crook can go on a spending spree courtesy of you and me.
The saddest part is that most people don’t give the gift cards until Christmas day allowing the crooks plenty of time to spend fully-charged gift cards.
Play it Safe
- Only buy gift cards that are stored behind the counter.
- The next best alternative is to buy a gift card stored in protective packaging
- Check the card number and the pin number against those listed on your receipt.
- Buy from reputable retailers
- Avoid cards sold on online auctions
Source: Avoid Gift Card Scams, USA Weekend, November 2007.
Scambusters.org
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