Over the past year there’s been a significant increase in using gift cards for payments surrounding impostor scams. Since 2015, the top payment method for fraudulent activity had been wire transfer, however, in 2018, there was a shift to gift cards. Here are a few ways in which you can protect yourself from some of the most common gift card scams.
Hacking
Scammers go to stores where gift cards are visible on the racks and obtain the gift card number and security code by replacing the strip covering the code. After that, they track the card to see whether the card is activated and then use it for purchase. One way to avoid this scam is by not putting the gift cards on display and only presenting them to customers when asked for under the supervision of an employee. The customers can also make sure to purchase gift cards from stores where they are not put on display to avoid such a scam.
Scammers go to stores where gift cards are visible on the racks and obtain the gift card number and security code by replacing the strip covering the code. After that, they track the card to see whether the card is activated and then use it for purchase. One way to avoid this scam is by not putting the gift cards on display and only presenting them to customers when asked for under the supervision of an employee. The customers can also make sure to purchase gift cards from stores where they are not put on display to avoid such a scam.
Spammers
Have you often received calls from random numbers claims to be from some company or government agency? These are fake callers that tell you that you owe them money or you have to pay something tax-related or any other form of payment has to be done by you and you can do it via a gift card. Personal information such as social security numbers and addresses are also at high risk of being compromised with this type of scam. You can protect yourselves from such a scam. Mostly you are notified about your bills and payment through post or email, and not by phone calls but if you want to be sure, you can directly call the company the caller claims to be from before making any payment and taking any actions.
Bots
There are some bots that allow the scammers to deplete your gift cards amount by scanning the gift card number and code and finding the perfect combination. This could be checked by keeping a track on your gift card’s balance.
In all, to avoid gift card scams, you should scan the packing of the gift card before making the purchase, keep the receipt and if you find any strange activity and fake phone call, report it to the company immediately. Also, if you are making a purchase of an e-gift card, make sure to buy it from an authentic website.
Using WP Gift Card Plugin, you can purchase a gift card, and the receiver can keep a track of its balance as well as the expiration date.
