As we prepare for the holiday shopping season this fall, there is no bigger waste of money than purchasing a gift card that is worth nothing at all.
Unfortunately, purchasing expired or worthless gift cards is more common than you think.
Bill Sampson is well aware of this.
He has a stack of unused gift cards in his kitchen. He recently bought another one while shopping.
“I took a Home Depot card off the shelf,” he said, “all wrapped in cardboard.”
But when he got home, he says, “I opened the package and voilà, it was an Amazon gift card.”
Someone had swapped the desired $100 Home Depot card for a worthless Amazon card.
“So apparently someone pulls these off the shelf,” he said, “cuts open the package and puts a blank Amazon card inside that hasn’t been activated yet.”
The Amazon card had no value. The Home Depot card he had paid $100 for was now in someone else’s hands.
“There was no sign of tampering,” he said. “No sign.”
More and more buyers receive worthless cards
According to a recent AARP survey, 73 million Americans have fallen victim to gift card fraud.
Almost a quarter said they had given away or received gift cards without a balance.
Veteran consumer advocate Herb Weisbaum, now editor at Checkbook.org, has a stark warning for consumers.
He says: “I no longer buy tickets in retail stores because I am aware of the risk.”
According to Weisbaum, you can look for signs of tampering, such as extra glue or scratched-off numbers.
However, he says that in more recent cases, such as the card purchased by Bill Sampson, there may not be any obvious signs as scammers cover their tracks.
“You get one of the real cards out of the rack,” Weisbaum said, “and then you can run algorithms to figure out what other cards might still be in that deck. So you don’t even have to manipulate the cards anymore.”
Weisbaum recommends:
- Purchase of electronic gift cards.
- In the store you can only buy gift vouchers, which are kept behind the counter and cannot be exchanged there.
- Redeem gift cards as soon as possible.
Fortunately, Bill Sampson still had his receipt and was able to get a refund.
However, he said, “If I had put it in my card stash and not used it for a year, the money would have really been gone for me. That would have been my loss.”
Some grocery stores are now taking action
Kroger, the country’s largest grocery chain, said it recently began placing gift cards behind customer service counters in stores with high complaint rates.
“Kroger employs several strategies to reduce fraud in our stores, including but not limited to, fraud awareness training for associates, placing gift card displays near cash registers at the front of the store for maximum visibility, additional signage and digital resources to educate consumers on how to avoid common fraud, and video surveillance. We continue to look for ways to leverage technology and training to improve fraud prevention.Kroger spokeswoman Jen Moore said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Federal Trade Commission reminds shoppers that gift cards are for giving, not for payment.
The agency advises: “Never buy a gift card just because someone tells you to buy one and gives them the numbers.”
Any caller, even if they claim to be from the IRS, a sheriff’s department, or a company like Microsoft, is trying to scam you when they ask you to purchase gift cards.
So be extra careful during the upcoming holiday season so you don’t waste your money.
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