Buying Gift Cards for the Holidays? Beware of this ‘Card Draining’ Scam!

onlinements 31

1. 

   Sunflower December 19, 2023 at 12:12 pm MST

   Thanks. Great advice. I experienced this with the Apple gift cards in November 2023. I had three $100 gift cards with the numbers missing. Fortunately, I was refunded the purchase price and was allowed to purchase them again at the store. After my purchase, the manager was kind enough to wait as I loaded them to my Apple account. This is not always the case. No refunds means taking it up directly with the merchant. I love the Apple gift card promotion. This year I opted to purchase the gift cards online.

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  Jessica (Hip Sidekick) December 19, 2023 at 12:25 pm MST

  You’re welonlinee, Sunflower. 💞 Very sorry to hear you had a similar experience with missing funds/numbers but glad you were able to get a refund and get it worked out! 🤗

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2. 

   Mommy2Bear December 19, 2023 at 12:13 pm MST

   Please don’t put the ripped/tampered giftcard back on the rack because someone else can beonlinee the victim. Maybe notify a store manager or associate instead.

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  Jessica (Hip Sidekick) December 19, 2023 at 12:26 pm MST

  Great suggestion. We’ll get that bit of information updated to reflect this a little more clearly, Mommy2Bear. 💕

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3. 

   Dee December 19, 2023 at 12:57 pm MST

   Related note: I always write the balance of the gift card on the card in Sharpie marker. Once, my spouse was buying $25 worth of stuff using a $10 gift card at Target. He got his receipt and the amount was still $25. The cashier said the balance on the card was empty and had tried to keep the gift card for himself. We called the manager. Employee was fired later that day as he attempted this scam on others. After that, I got out the Sharpie.

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  Jessica (Hip Sidekick) December 19, 2023 at 1:05 pm MST

  Thanks for sharing the Sharpie tip, Dee. I like to do this also. 🤗 Glad you were able to get the transaction sorted out in-store before leaving. 💕

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4. 

   tinacv December 19, 2023 at 1:09 pm MST

   This happened to me in November 2023. Had a $50 Target gift card, purchased in store in November. went to use it and it had a $0 balance. Everything was sealed.

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  Jessica (Hip Sidekick) December 19, 2023 at 1:15 pm MST

  Oh bummer! Sorry to hear that, tinacv. ❤️ Hoping you may have had the gift/purchase receipt to show as proof to try to sort it out. 🤞

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5. 

   Debbie December 19, 2023 at 3:08 pm MST

   Yes the scam is real one of the worse gift cards are the Visa cards! I bought one last Aug for 100.00 for a birthday gift. When he went to use it the card was invalid to use. Contacted Visa and they wanted the receipt, copy of my license copy of card and it had to be faxed! It took weeks to get a new one and when I did they deducted another 6.00 activation fee and when! Unreal. So I lost almost 15.00 just to get new one…never again a Visa gift card. I bought that at a Koeger’s store and it wasn’t even a holiday. Be very careful!!

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  Jessica (Hip Sidekick) December 19, 2023 at 3:21 pm MST

  Aww, very sorry to hear about the troubles with the Visa gift card Debbie. So glad you kept your receipt though as proof of purchase and you were able to get it replaced for the recipient with the full value. ❤️ Thanks for sharing about your experience.

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  Lynn December 20, 2023 at 6:08 am MST

  You can purchase those through your bank. Much much safer.

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6. 

   ienotaryservices December 19, 2023 at 3:24 pm MST

   Yes, a friend gifted me a $25 GC from Starbucks it was zero balance when I tried to add it to the app 😔 don’t know if Starbucks would reimburse it ….

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  Jessica (Hip Sidekick) December 19, 2023 at 3:44 pm MST

  Oh no! SO sorry! Hoping your friend might be able to provide you proof of purchase or a receipt to contact Starbucks with. 🤞 Good luck!

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7. 

   Debbie December 19, 2023 at 3:48 pm MST

   Actually did not get full value back only 94.00 so lost 6.00 from original expense on 1st visa card purchase (activation fee) then they deducted it on the replacement card and had to pay 4.00 for the fax. Others also have been scammed by the Visa cards, they are actually the worse cards to purchase for gifts.

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  Jessica (Hip Sidekick) December 19, 2023 at 4:26 pm MST

  Oh bummer! 😢 Thanks for the clarification, Debbie. 💕

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8. 

   tracy December 19, 2023 at 5:20 pm MST

   Scammers are also targeting the pre-paid phone cards.

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  Jessica (Hip Sidekick) December 19, 2023 at 5:27 pm MST

  Eek! Thanks for the warning, Tracy! ❤️

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9. 

   nldaadmin December 19, 2023 at 6:58 pm MST

   I got 2ea, $50 Lowe’s ($100 total) cards from Amazon just a week or so ago, on a promo of some kind. I used some Discover points plus regular credit card payment to pay for them, which ‘earned’ me some more credits, plus there was a $10 Amazon credit given to me.
   The cards arrived a couple days later, and I noticed that the zip cardboard strip on the back of the physical card packaging had been unzipped on both card holders. I didn’t like the looks of it, but I just put the cardboard strips back in place, and they are stashed away, awaiting wrapping now.
   The actual cards in their packaging have not been given away yet, so I don’t know if they have been onlinepromised. But at least Amazon said something in advance about the partially-opened cards, and I have no doubt I can get a refund or replacement from them if necessary, since I have all the Amazon documentation, and the original posting. Keeping my fingers crossed….

   When I checked my Amazon digital receipt, here’s what it said:
   “50.00
   Two-Day
   Denomination:
   50
   Design Name: Traditional
   Redemption: Instore and Online
   It’s the perfect gift for any occasion.
   No returns and no refunds on gift cards.
   Please note, the back of the packaging may appear to be removed as the enclosed gift card needs to be activated.”

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  Jessica (Hip Sidekick) December 19, 2023 at 7:15 pm MST

  Thanks for taking a few minutes to share about your gift card purchases, nldaadmin. Hoping that all is OK on the ones that will be gifted! 🤞❤️ Good to know about Amazon’s packaging details too. 🙌

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10. 

    Shopper December 20, 2023 at 8:30 am MST

    KEEP YOUR RECEIPTS. This happened to me with a $100 Target gift card. Target did replace the card after calling the number on the back, sending receipts and images, etc. But it was a hassle and stressful not knowing if I was getting my money back. I’m onlinepletely done buying gift cards. Makes teacher gifts a little harder.

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  Amber (Hip Sidekick) December 20, 2023 at 8:57 am MST

  Oh wow! SO glad you could get a new card! Thanks for sharing how they were able to help you! 💞

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11. 

    Julie December 20, 2023 at 5:06 pm MST

    Always write the gift card amount on the cards when gifting and if possible attach the receipt. I once was gifted a Visa GC and the gifted wrote $75 on the card. When I went to use it, it said the value was only $50. Since it was my in-law that gifted it to me, I asked if it was an error. He gave me the receipt and I went to the store and a manager credited the entire $75 to the card. I really don’t understand how the receipt can reflect $75 but only $50 gets loaded to the card??

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  Jessica (Hip Sidekick) December 20, 2023 at 5:19 pm MST

  That is strange, Julie, but so glad you were able to get full credit for the gift card with the receipt. 🤗 Thanks for hopping into the onlinements to share about your gift card experience!

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12. 

    Jan October 14, 2024 at 4:34 pm MST

    Is it safer to order a gift card from the store’s website directly? Just a thought but not sure of the answer.

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  Jessica (Hip Sidekick) October 14, 2024 at 4:43 pm MST

  Hey Jan! That would be an option to guarantee the barcode hasn’t been tampered with on the store shelf. 🤗 I haven’t personally ran into this when grabbing gift cards in-store, and I always keep my receipts for them, so hoping if it ever did happen, there would be proof of the purchase that customer service could help with. 🤞❤️

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13. 

    Teeny October 15, 2024 at 10:57 am MST

    I don’t understand why the stores that sell them does not keep them locked up behind the counter. These scammers won’t be able to get to them unless they work for the store or the gift card onlinepany, but it could reduce the chances of this happening.
    I purchased two $100. Target cards in the store and they were given as gifts a few months later to my grand daughters and when they went to use them they had no funds on them. They appeared intact when purchased. But thank goodness I had the receipt for my daughter to file a claim. SAVE YOUR RECEIPTS even long past when you give them as gifts because you never know how long after they will be used by the recipient. But it was a horrible feeling knowing the girls went shopping only to be told at the register they had no funds on the cards.

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  Amber (Hip Sidekick) December 17, 2024 at 8:34 am MST

  I’m so sorry this happened with the gift cards you purchased. What a huge bummer. 😔 Thanks for the tip and the warning. We sure appreciate it!

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14. 

    Valerie December 17, 2024 at 7:41 am MST

    I had this happen with a Target gift card. They could verify the purchases were made in California and I was in Kansas. The Target rep just told me I must have checked the balance on Google or something and it was my fault. It was purchased by my older father who didn’t own a onlineputer or smartphone.

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  Amber (Hip Sidekick) December 17, 2024 at 8:33 am MST

  Oh bummer! How frustrating. Very sorry to hear about that experience. Thanks for taking the time to share with us. ❤️

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15. 

    Amy M December 17, 2024 at 6:45 pm MST

    Target has started putting the activation barcode on at the register to onlinebat this scam!! Yay!

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  Jessica (Hip Sidekick) December 17, 2024 at 6:52 pm MST

  That’s great, Amy! 🤗 Thanks for sharing how Target is helping with this issue. ❤️🎯

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