Scams involving gift cards are expected to surge this holiday season – with crooks deploying ever-more elaborate tactics to target consumers.
While they are the ideal gift for anyone who’s hard to buy for, they also offer less protections than typical payment methods, such as credit cards, so when a person loses their gift card cash it’s often gone forever.
Scams involving gift cards have increased every year since 2018, official figures from the Federal Trade Commission reveal.Nearly 40,000 people reported fraud worth $148 million linked to gift cards in the first nine months of 2021 – but the true figure is likely to be much higher.
The top ranked brands by dollar losses are Target, Play, Apple, and .
Here, DailyMail.com identifies seven of the main ways fraudsters target gift card users – and simple ways you can defend against them.
Gift cards are an easy present for someone who’s hard to buy for – but they are particularly vulnerable to scammers
Nichelle Laus posted a now-viral TikTok which revealed a scammer had placed a fake barcode over the gift card she was looking to purchase.It’s one of several ways crooks will try and steal balances
The fake barcode scam
A video alerting shoppers to perhaps the sneakiest tactic used by gift card crooks went viral on TikTok earlier this month.
It involves scammers covering the barcode of a yet-to-be purchased gift card with a sticker showing a barcode linked to a card they own.
When you take the card to the checkout, the clerk will scan it without any issues – and Euro €10 Bills you will believe you’ve just activated the card you wanted to purchase.
But instead, the barcode linked to the scammer’s card is loaded with the funds – not yours, which means they can spend your money before you even realize.
The simplest way to avoid being caught out is to run a finger over the barcode before you make
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