Daniel Gritzer

As technology advances, so does the prevalence of scams and fraud. This is especially true when it comes to gift cards, with scammers finding new ways to trick people into giving away their hard-earned money. In this article, we’ll explore how to spot and avoid fraudulent Visa gift cards, so you can protect yourself and your finances from these deceitful schemes. By staying informed and vigilant, you can ensure that you never fall victim to gift card scams again.

What are some common scams involving Visa gift cards?

– Scammers may ask for the card number and PIN over the phone or via email, claiming to be customer service representatives or offering a prize or refund.

How can you verify the legitimacy of a Visa gift card?

– Check the card packaging and activation receipt for tampering or damage, and make sure the card number and activation code match.

What are some red flags to watch out for when buying or receiving Visa gift cards?

– Be wary of unsolicited offers or requests for payment via gift cards, as well as any pressure to act quickly or keep the transaction secret.

What should you do if you suspect a Visa gift card scam?

– Contact the issuer’s customer service immediately to report any suspicious activity or unauthorized charges.

In conclusion, being able to spot and avoid fraudulent Visa gift cards can save you from losing your hard-earned money. By following the tips mentioned above, you can protect yourself from scammers and ensure that you only purchase legitimate gift cards. Remember to always be cautious and vigilant when making any financial transactions, and if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Stay safe and protect your finances from fraudulent activity.

Gift cards are for gifts , not for payments. Scammers like this. If someone calls you and demands that you pay them with gift cards, you can bet that a scammer is behind that call. Once they have the gift card number and the PIN, they have your money. Scammers may tell you many stories to get you to pay them with gift cards, but this is what usually happens. If you paid a scammer with a gift card, tell the company that issued the card right away. Remember that gift cards are for gifts , not for payments. So if you buy gift cards to give away or donate. If someone asks you to pay them with gift cards. Federal Trade Commission Consumer Information. Search form Search. Gift Card Scams. Share this page Facebook Twitter Linked-In. Someone might ask you to pay for something by putting money on a gift card, like a Google Play or iTunes card, and then giving them the numbers on the back of the card. No real business or government agency will ever insist you pay them with a gift card. Anyone who demands to be paid with a gift card is a scammer. Read on to learn more about gift card scams. Tagged with gift cards , scam.
Gift cards are one of the most popular holiday purchases and remain in demand year round. Customers like gift cards because theyre a convenient and flexible way to send someone a gift while still being a bit more personal than cash. Merchants like them because theyre a great way to generate sales and create customer loyalty. Unfortunately, fraudsters like gift cards too. There are a variety of schemes they can employ to take advantage of the fact that gift cards have few of the security features that modern credit cards do. Many of these schemes will result in chargebacks, with the merchant left holding the bag. How can merchants protect themselves from gift card fraud? Despite the risks, it makes sense that merchants would want to offer gift cardscustomers want them, they increase sales, and they can be a good marketing tool. The important thing is to understand the ways in which fraudsters can exploit gift cards so that you can take precautions to minimize the risk and empower your customers to keep their funds safe. COVID had led many merchants and customers alike to enter the world of e-commerce for the first time. While online shopping was already on the rise before , the lockdowns around the world turned that growth into an explosion. This, in turn, led more fraudsters to target e-commerce merchants and customers, taking advantage of a lack of knowledge about common methods of fraud. Whether through a stolen card number or some other scheme, more fraudsters than ever are using gift cards in their crimes. Gift cards are untethered to individual identities, hard to trace, easy to convert to cash or resellable goods, and ubiquitous. Here are the main ones you should be aware of, along with some advice about how to defend yourself. If a customer ever wants to return a product and asks to have it refunded to a gift card, watch out. It could be part of a scheme to extract untraceable funds from a stolen credit card. Heres how it works. Fraudsters use a stolen card number to make an online purchase, then send it back for a refund and ask for the funds to be put on a gift card. The merchant loses twice the transaction amount plus all the fees and hidden costs associated with a chargeback. Meanwhile, the fraudster has a gift card they can use or sell without issue. Merchants can avoid this by always insisting that funds be returned to the same payment card used to make the purchase. Sometimes customers may claim that they no longer have the card, but this is often a red flag for potential fraud. Even if its true, the funds can still be returned to the old card account and the customer can claim them from the issuer. Fraudsters can virtually print money for themselves by hacking into a company gift card database to steal card numbers and activation codes. This can be done via brute force hacking methods, malware, or using phishing or social engineering attacks against company employees. These last two methods are by far the most common. Merchants who manage their own gift card data must make sure robust information security technology is in place to defend it against hackers and should track gift card numbers and their usage carefully to look out for suspicious activity. All employees with access to company computers or systems should receive cybersecurity awareness training, ideally with an occasional refresher. Merchants can also run tests such as simulated phishing emails or social engineering attempts to assess the effectiveness of the training. Areas of weakness can be identified and emphasized in future training. The most important things for employees to remember are to keep an eye out for unusual or suspicious emails and to never plug an unknown device into a computer.