More: Tragedy at Oxford High School expected to attract scammers More: How holiday shoppers can try to avoid late gifts, scams during supply chain crisis More: Pennsylvania widow drained of $39K in gift card scam by a man she fell for The value of the card can end up being drained by an outsider, without ever leaving your hands. "As soon as that card hits the cash register, they're pinged," Stokes said. Soon after money is loaded onto the card, the scammers will the use the activation code to steal the money. The bad actors, Stokes said, are able to use technology to monitor when the compromised cards are activated. But consumers are warned nonetheless to be on the lookout for signs that someone damaged the card's packaging. Many times, the cards don't look like they've been tampered with because new security tape is placed on them. Gift cards can be tampered with at the store, she said, by crooks who grab stacks of cards, remove the security tape from each gift card, and then take photos or write down the card’s secret 16-digit activation code. Sophisticated scam rings know how to quickly wipe a gift card clean - and gain access to that cash - shortly after the card is purchased by a shopper and activated, according to Kathy Stokes, director of fraud protection for the AARP. Or you might have ended up the victim of a scam. Or the card might not have been activated properly by the retailer. Sure, some flaky friend could have just given you a gift card that she forgot she used up a year ago. Like, what happens if the money isn't actually on the card when you try to buy something with it? About 21% of consumers reported that they have given or received a gift card with no money on it, according to an AARP survey of adult consumers. While gift cards might be simple to buy, though, there are plenty of gotchas to consider along the way and yes, warnings about crime rings running scams. Watch Video: Black Friday: Get the most out of your gift cardsįear of empty shelves, coupled with hope for a quick holiday hack, will drive shoppers to grab bunches of gift cards in the next few weeks.
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