A New Gift Card Scam Has Made it to Texas to Steal Your Money

If there's one thing that everyone can agree on, it's that thieves are the worst of the worst people in the world. They think that stealing our hard earned money or hard earned possessions is perfectly okay for them to do. It's not, by the way, and if you do steal, you rightfully deserve to spend time in jail if convicted. The thing about stealing is that are many different and sneaky ways to carry out the crime. One such way is called gift card draining. Here's how it works and how to spot it.

Gift Cards

I'm gonna be honest with you, if I get a gift card as a gift, I'm over the moon. I like getting them because I can turn around and get the specific thing that I want. I have no problem using them, either. I would say within a couple of weeks of getting one, I've spent it on what I need to get. A gift card will never go to waste if you give one to me as a gift, no matter what the amount is.

Thieves, however, have found a way to take advantage of the popularity of giving a gift card as a present. What they'll do is take a stack of the cards you see at any gift card kiosk in a store. These thieves will then take them somewhere else, open them up, copy down all the important numbers, including the scratch off area, and then replace the scratch off area and reseal the card in the original packaging. The thieves are able to monitor that card until it is purchased and then drain the funds added to the card.

How to Protect Yourself

When you are shopping for a gift card, inspect the packaging for any imperfections in the cardboard around the card. A lot of the time, the thieves will use a heat source to loosen the glue which could cause some ripples in the packaging. Also look for any smudges on the packaging as this could be residue from the resealing process. Be sure to keep the physical receipt in case there is an issue.

Another way to avoid possible card draining is to buy a digital gift card. These can purchased on the retailer's website then sent electronically instead of a physical card.

Federal Trade Commission

The Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, website has a whole page dedicated to gift card scams. There are the tips explained above, other types of gift card scams and lots of other information in regards to how thieves steal using gift cards.

This is not to scare you into never buying gift cards ever again. This is only to educate you into what these thieves are doing and how to protect yourself from losing your hard earned money to these thieves.