CINCINNNATI — January is the peak month for using gift cards, but it is also the peak month for gift card disappointment.
One mom and daughter are the latest victims of gift card fraud, and now want to warn other families about what to watch out for.
Linda Wince of Withamsville, Ohio, was thrilled on Christmas morning, when her daughter Jamie gave her a gift card to Lowe's.
"My boyfriend and I bought my parents a Lowe's gift card for $200," she said.
So a few days later, Wince went to buy some kitchen items, but received an unpleasant surprise in the checkout lane.
"We went through the self checkout," she said, "and when we attempted to use the gift card, it said there was only a penny left on the card."
They had fallen victim to gift card fraud, where scammers steal the code off the card, usually on the rack, and use it once you activate it at the cash register.
Wince and her daughter went back to the grocery store where they bought it, but were told all sales were final, with no refunds for gift cards.
"It's been quite frustrating for me," Wince said, " but more for her, because she feels bad that she bought us a gift card that we are unable to use."
Stores have taken extraordinary measures the past few years to make gift cards more secure against tampering. And the packaging is much improved from a decade ago.
But if they are hanging on a rack, and there's no cashier nearby, there's always a slight risk that someone has tampered with it.
What you can do
To protect yourself, Consumer Reports says:
- Inspect gift cards for tampering before you purchase them.
- Try to buy gift cards from the counter, not racks in the middle of the store.
- Use it as soon as possible, as it is easier to try to get help the sooner you try to use it.
Most important: Don't throw away the receipt, so that you can appeal a drained card. The receipt should show the original amount.
After we contacted Lowe's, it made an exception and agreed to re-issue a new gift card, even though it was not responsible for the theft.
Other people, however, are often not so lucky.
"It's sad that there's people that, that's how they make money," Wince said.
So if you still have a stack of gift cards from the holidays, try to use them the next few weeks, because the longer you wait, the tougher it is to get help with a bad one.
That way you don't waste your money.
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