“My aunt gave me this gift card and I was shocked to find it was almost empty,” Catherine Uchida, of Mississauga, told CTV News Toronto.
This text is a translation of an article from CTV News.
Ms. Uchida received a $250 Joker Visa gift card, but she says when she wanted to buy a jacket with the card, the cashier told her there was a problem.
“I decided to take a look at the gift card and the amount on it, and saw that I only had $1.50 left, even though I had never used it before,” says Ms. Uchida.
Stranger still, the gift card contained transactions made far from his place of residence.
“The card indicated that I had made transactions in Hamilton and Etobicoke, but I had not been to either location where the card was used,” Ms. Uchida said.
See also: Almost $1.5 million vanished: a Trois-Rivières company targeted by “presidential fraud”
An elaborate ploy
Gift card scams have been around for years, but the holiday season sees a resurgence because criminals know that gift cards are popular gifts.
It’s often referred to as a gift card scam because criminals tamper with gift cards so that when they are loaded with money, they receive the money instead.
To do this, criminals typically go to a store, copy the gift card number and bar activation code, then reseal the packaging before putting it back on the shelf. They may also put a fraudulent barcode sticker on the card.
As soon as the card is activated, the added money goes directly to the scammer instead of going to the gift card that was just purchased.
Avoid the pitfalls
To avoid being duped, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) advises that you carefully inspect a gift card before purchasing it.
“Swipe your finger across the map. Does it appear to you that a sticker has been placed on the barcode? Has the package been opened and perhaps resealed?,” says Melanie McGovern of the BBB.
To further protect yourself against fraud, buy gift cards sold behind the counter or online, and keep the receipt in case something goes wrong.
See also: Strategies taught to counter new types of fraud
In Ms. Uchida’s case, she was able to file a dispute with Visa, which agreed to issue her a replacement gift card worth $250. As the replacement card was mailed, Ms. Uchida does not know when she will receive it due to the Canada Post strike.
When it comes to gift cards, she fears it could happen again.
“It really worries me that someone might spend their hard-earned money or that someone who really needs the $250 won’t get it at all because it will be gone before they know it.” , said Ms. Uchida.
