Gift cards are one of the most popular holiday presents to give, but they’re also one of the easiest for scammers to compromise. That leaves you with a gift card that’s already depleted by the scammers before you even get a chance to give it to someone — all without you knowing.
In 2024, consumers lost a total of $212 million to gift card scammers, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Shoppers who’ve unfortunately become part of that statistic often take to social media to warn others with their stories.
“I bought a $100 VISA gift card from Target for my parents’ anniversary,” said one Redditor in r/Scams. “When they opened it there was a [Dairy Queen] card instead with a Visa barcode glued over the DQ barcode. I’ve seen the scams about numbers scratched or missing some, etc… But a totally different card instead is insane!”
You can avoid losing your money to scammers the same way by doing some due diligence. Next time you’re purchasing a gift card, make sure to follow these tips to avoid becoming the victim of a scam.
Never Buy a Card That Doesn’t Look Right
Inspect every gift card before you purchase it. Look especially at the packaging — often a cardboard holder that covers a portion of the card. If any of it is ripped, wrinkled, missing, damaged, or just plain doesn’t look right, don’t buy it.
Another Redditor shared a story about how their aunt sent them a gift card. “As I got it from the mail I noticed a rip was done in the middle of the card package. I assumed it was my aunt so I thought nothing of it,” they recounted. Turns out the gift card balance had already been used — scammers are usually notified immediately when gift cards are activated — and their aunt was scammed out of $500.
Make Sure the PIN Is Hidden
Almost all gift cards have a PIN on the back of the card that you need to enter when you make a purchase, similar to a credit or debit card. They’re always hidden behind a small box that you have to scratch off. If any of that area is already scratched off to reveal the PIN below it, don’t buy the gift card. Anyone who has the PIN can use it to drain the card.
Only Buy From Trusted Stores
Only buy gift cards from well known and trusted stores. Places like Target, Walmart, Costco, and Best Buy are aware of gift card scams and will try and protect the customer. Some even have employees that inspect the racks for any gift cards that have been tampered with.
“That was part of my job, ‘cleaning cards,’” said one Redditor in a thread about gift card scams. “Our racks were in the middle of the store, and for a certain time there were a lot of customers complaining their cards didn’t work. So I started looking at the cards and oh surprise, a weird scratch on this one, a pencil mark on that one, a star on the other, the package was weird on another one…”
Buy Gift Cards Online
Buying a gift card online can be a way to avoid scams since the physical card is not sitting in a store just waiting for scammers to tamper with it. But there are some hard rules if you buy online.
Always go directly to the website of the store you want to buy a gift card from. So if you want to buy a Target gift card, type in target.com in your browser’s address bar. Don’t search Google for anything like “Target gift cards,” because you will probably get some scam websites in the search results. Always double check to make sure you’re on the correct website before you enter any credit card information.
Keep the Receipt
Even if you do your best to avoid getting scammed, sometimes it just happens, especially with gift cards. If it does, you’ll need to have your receipt in order to try and fix the issue with the store you purchased it from. While they may not be able to help you, at least you have a better case if you still have proof of purchase.
