Despite your greatest intentions, it may be tough to get everybody in your circle an ideal – or no less than private – gift.
So you flip to Plan B: gift cards. Easy to get. Easy to use. Usually welcome.
But, given how prevalent financial scams are as of late – and the benefit with which they are often carried out utilizing gift cards – it’s a good suggestion to ensure that the cash you placed on the cardboard might be shielded from thieves and fraudsters.
Gift cards may be like money. But the cash is accessed utilizing a PIN assigned to the cardboard, in order that code ought to be securely hid from view if you purchase it.
If you’re purchasing for a gift card off a rack in a retailer, “check for signs of tampering,” mentioned Rebecca Plett, an legal professional with the advertising practices division on the Federal Trade Commission.
For occasion, don’t purchase a card if the protecting masking has been scratched off and a PIN is revealed on the again, since whoever has stolen the PIN can use it to drain your cash from the cardboard.
Similarly, test the again of the cardboard to see if there’s a sticker with a bar code masking the cardboard’s actual bar code. The Better Business Bureau, a non-profit that charges companies and publishes client evaluations and buyer complaints, notes the “fraudulent bar codes are connected to a different gift card account that the scammer controls.”
“That means when you scan a phony barcode at the check-out and pay, you’ll add cash to a scammer’s account rather than onto your newly purchased gift card,” the group mentioned.
And since thieves may tamper with a complete batch of cards without delay, should you discover something off, don’t purchase every other cards from that rack, Plett prompt. Instead, report the broken card to the shop and go elsewhere.
Your most secure possibility could also be to purchase a gift card on-line from a good retailer, Plett mentioned. That means, the cardboard isn’t bodily uncovered to everybody coming by means of a retailer.
The FTC cautions in opposition to shopping for gift cards from on-line public sale websites “to avoid buying fake or stolen cards.”
And it advises not to click on on any texts or emails promising a “free” gift card should you simply share some private or monetary data. It’s a rip-off, the FTC says, and also you’re placing your self at better threat of identification theft.
However you purchase a card, save the receipt and take a photograph of the back and front of the cardboard, which can be useful if the gift recipient runs into points utilizing it.
And inform the recipient to test the stability on the cardboard as quickly as they get it, Plett mentioned. If the cardboard issuer affords the choice of registering the cardboard, that may provide one other layer of safety.
If you or the recipient loses the gift card or thinks it could be stolen, report it to the cardboard issuer as quickly as attainable, Plett mentioned.
Never use a gift card to pay somebody on demand
One of the most typical gift-card scams all year long entails fraudsters contacting you and pretending to be from a authorities company, an organization or regulation enforcement. They insist that you simply owe cash and demand that you simply make the cost utilizing gift cards. Don’t fall for it.
“Gift cards are for gifts. Legitimate organizations will never ask to be paid by gift card,” Plett mentioned.
If you do fall prey to a gift card rip-off, report it to the cardboard issuer. The FTC has a listing of widespread card issuers’ contact data here.
And report it to the FTC at [email protected].