Gift Card Scams

Criminals also lurk on resale and auction websites, ostensibly offering goods at an attractive discount. Once they get you interested in buying, they’ll ask you to pay with a gift card. As soon as they get the card number and PIN, they vanish, and so does the money on the card.

Another variation recently garnering attention involves scammers posing as clergy members raising money for a worthy cause or a congregant in need. They reach out to worshipers by email, text or phone, asking them to buy gift cards and share the numbers.

Gift card theft

Criminals have also developed ways to directly drain the cash consumers put on gift cards they’ve legitimately bought for themselves or others. Not surprisingly, these scams spike around the holidays.

One trick is for thieves to go to stores and surreptitiously scratch off the film strip on the back to get the PIN, which they cover back up with easy-to-obtain replacement stickers.

The scammer enters the card numbers and PINs into a computer program that repeatedly checks the retailer’s website and lets them know when someone buys and loads a compromised card. The crook can then spend or transfer the money on the card, or cash it in, before the buyer or gift recipient has a chance to use it. One in 4 respondents to the AARP survey said they had given or received a gift card that turned out to have no value on it. 

Another ploy is the phony giveaway. You get an email or text, supposedly from a familiar store or organization (including, on occasion, AARP), saying you’ve won a gift card. To claim it, you just need to provide contact information, click through to a website or answer a few survey questions, often about your finances or health.

The scammers can then install malware on your computer, use your data for identity theft or sell it to marketers, resulting in a barrage of spam emails about loan opportunities or miracle cures.

Warning Signs

• Someone claiming to be a government official, a representative of a company you do business with or a loved one in trouble tells you to buy gift cards to cover a debt, bill or emergency expense.
• A person selling an item online wants to be paid via gift cards from a different retailer.
• The packaging on a gift card in a store appears to have been tampered with or the PIN is exposed.

How to protect yourself from this scam

• Purchase cards you plan to use yourself or give as presents directly from the business that issued them, preferably by ordering them online. Cards on store racks can be tampered with.
• Carefully examine any card you are considering buying at a physical store for signs of tampering. It’s safer to buy from places that keep gift cards behind the counter or, if they’re sold on racks, in well-sealed packaging.
• Immediately contact the retailer that issued a gift card you used to pay a suspected scammer. If money remains on the card, you might be able to get it back. You often will find contact information on the card.
• Register your card with the retailer if that option is offered. This makes it easier to track and quickly report any issues.
• Never give gift card information to callers claiming to be from government agencies, tech companies, utilities or other businesses. Only scammers ask you to pay fees, back taxes or bills for services with gift cards.
• Delete any unsolicited email or text message offering you a gift card.
• Don’t give personal information to anyone in exchange for a gift card.

Report scams

If you spot or have been victim of a scam, report it to the police, as well as to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. The more information authorities have, the better they can identify patterns, link cases and ultimately catch the criminals.   

You can also report scams to the AARP Fraud Watch Network Helpline, 877-908-3360. It's a free resource, with trained fraud specialists who can provide support and guidance on what to do next and how to avoid scams in the future.