We are in peak gift-card-buying season as the holidays rapidly approach—which means that scammers are also in their peak season of trying to trick us into buying gift cards that those on our list won’t actually be able to use. We’ve previously covered how scammers pretend to be from the IRS or other figures of authority to get you to pay for things with gift cards. But time only makes scammers more sophisticated and creative, so here are the new gift-card scams to watch out for.
How to spot tampered gift cards in a store
Unbought gift cards have been tampered with for years, but it’s usually the old trick where scammers take a gift card, find the PIN information, and then put it back on the shelves where it waits for a victim to buy it and put money on it. They do this by periodically calling the number on the back of the card to see if there’s a balance, and then draining it as soon as there is. But now, scammers are printing their own barcodes and placing them over the real ones; once the card is activated and money from a victim is put onto it, the money ends up going to an existing card owned by the scammer, and you end up giving a gift card worth exactly zero dollars.
To guard against giving this sad gift, examine the gift cards for any sign of tampering before putting any money on it. The barcode number should match the one on the back of the packaging. Peel the barcode to see if it comes off, and compare it to the…
