Buyers Beware of Tampered Gift Cards [source: krebsonsecurity]

21 Dec 2017

No Comments

1160

Prepaid gift cards make popular presents and no-brainer stocking stuffers, but before you purchase one be on the lookout for signs that someone may have tampered with it. A perennial scam that picks up around the holidays involves thieves who pull back and then replace the decals that obscure the card’s redemption code, allowing them to redeem or transfer the card’s balance online after the card is purchased by an unwitting customer.

Last week KrebsOnSecurity heard from Colorado reader Flint Gatrell, who reached out after finding that a bunch of Sam’s Club gift cards he pulled off the display rack at Wal-Mart showed signs of compromise. The redemption code was obscured by a watermarked sticker that is supposed to make it obvious if it has been tampered with, and many of the cards he looked at clearly had stickers that had been peeled back and then replaced.

“I just identified five fraudulent gift cards on display at my local Wal-Mart,” Gatrell said. “They each had their stickers covering their codes peeled back and replaced. I can only guess that the thieves call the service number to monitor the balances, and try to consume them before the victims can. I’m just glad I thought to check!”

For more, click here.