Apr 13, 2015, 12:55 pm
Last edit by: phant0m
************Gift Card Fraud Alert************
http://www.consumerfinance.gov/complaint/
How can I protect myself?
1) Do not buy a card that has been opened or looks tampered with. Inspect all packaging thoroughly before purchasing. Many posters say that the packaging looks pristine, but the glue seems excessive once opened. Open the package to inspect the glue before you pay for it, if the cashier allows that.
2) Use the card quickly. The card has no value until YOU add money. If you spend your funds before the fraudster figures out that it's loaded, you win. Or at least register your card. That might give you another layer of security but beware it might NOT be bulletproof.
3) Keep your receipts and packaging until your card is liquidated. You will need the receipt to make a claim.
I'll add a few more from the school of hard knocks (also now known as the school of the paranoid MSer)....
4) If it's the only card of its type left on the rack, should you buy it or not? Consider: did the fraudster remove all the other cards so some sucker would quickly come along quickly and buy the card he has placed there purposefully?
5) A corollary to #4: Should you buy the top card in a stack of cards, or dig deeper and pick out one a distance from the top? Did the fraudster put the card he wants some sucker to buy at the top of the stack so it would sell quickly and he could do his evil deed?
6) Open card packages soon after purchase. Don't wait a few days. If anything looks amiss (too much glue inside the pack, too little glue inside, glue in the wrong location, mag stripe doesn't look right, some card numbers illegible), call the 800 number on the back of the card immediately to report it and ask about a replacement.
Each link of Gift Card MS:
1. Gift Card issuer: Vanilla, Metabank, US Bank, Green Dot etc. There can be data hack. It is rare.
2. GC Merchant: grocery and drug stores. Online GC sellers (Simon Mall, Gift Card Mall etc.). The data hack is possible, but rare.
3. Shipping: GCs can be stolen. But this is not fraud.
4. GC Cash Out: Walmart, Dollar General, Family Dollar, CVS etc. This is very rare.
For unsold GCs with bar code exposed, the store is required to destroy the GCs. Fraud can happen when the unsuspecting store staff return the unsold GCs back to the shelf. But it is very rare to have a batch of GCs all tampered and returned to the store shelf.
Here is a web site with information about gift card fraud:
http://www.tripwire.com/state-of-sec...-so-lucrative/
Here are some stores where FT members have experienced fraud:
List of Stores to avoid or be Alert:
(1) Reported by IWOL in So Cal:
VONS => Ventura Blvd & Reseda
Reported by Lovenola:
Ralph's in Downey at 9200 Lakewood Blvd.
Ralph's in Pasadena at 211 E. Foothill Blvd.
Ralph's in Monrovia at 1193 Huntington Dr.
3) Reported by domino007
Ralphs in 13321 Jamboree Rd, Tustin
Ralphs in Irvine on Alton, Walnut and Irvine Blvd
Reported by DaveInLA:
Ralphs in Brea- 305 W Imperial Hwy. VGC was purchased in 12/2014.
Reported by 46sky:
Ralphs in Culver City on Venice Blvd - VGC purchased 2/2015.
Reported by Chrisflyer66:
Ralphs in San Diego on Sports Arena - VGCs purchased in 2014-2015.
Ralph's - 1435 W Chapman Ave, Orange, CA 92868 - Purchased 12/2019
Seems to me that only People in so.Cal are reporting
http://www.consumerfinance.gov/complaint/
How can I protect myself?
1) Do not buy a card that has been opened or looks tampered with. Inspect all packaging thoroughly before purchasing. Many posters say that the packaging looks pristine, but the glue seems excessive once opened. Open the package to inspect the glue before you pay for it, if the cashier allows that.
2) Use the card quickly. The card has no value until YOU add money. If you spend your funds before the fraudster figures out that it's loaded, you win. Or at least register your card. That might give you another layer of security but beware it might NOT be bulletproof.
3) Keep your receipts and packaging until your card is liquidated. You will need the receipt to make a claim.
I'll add a few more from the school of hard knocks (also now known as the school of the paranoid MSer)....
4) If it's the only card of its type left on the rack, should you buy it or not? Consider: did the fraudster remove all the other cards so some sucker would quickly come along quickly and buy the card he has placed there purposefully?
5) A corollary to #4: Should you buy the top card in a stack of cards, or dig deeper and pick out one a distance from the top? Did the fraudster put the card he wants some sucker to buy at the top of the stack so it would sell quickly and he could do his evil deed?
6) Open card packages soon after purchase. Don't wait a few days. If anything looks amiss (too much glue inside the pack, too little glue inside, glue in the wrong location, mag stripe doesn't look right, some card numbers illegible), call the 800 number on the back of the card immediately to report it and ask about a replacement.
Each link of Gift Card MS:
1. Gift Card issuer: Vanilla, Metabank, US Bank, Green Dot etc. There can be data hack. It is rare.
2. GC Merchant: grocery and drug stores. Online GC sellers (Simon Mall, Gift Card Mall etc.). The data hack is possible, but rare.
3. Shipping: GCs can be stolen. But this is not fraud.
4. GC Cash Out: Walmart, Dollar General, Family Dollar, CVS etc. This is very rare.
For unsold GCs with bar code exposed, the store is required to destroy the GCs. Fraud can happen when the unsuspecting store staff return the unsold GCs back to the shelf. But it is very rare to have a batch of GCs all tampered and returned to the store shelf.
Here is a web site with information about gift card fraud:
http://www.tripwire.com/state-of-sec...-so-lucrative/
Here are some stores where FT members have experienced fraud:
List of Stores to avoid or be Alert:
(1) Reported by IWOL in So Cal:
VONS => Ventura Blvd & Reseda
Reported by Lovenola:
Ralph's in Downey at 9200 Lakewood Blvd.
Ralph's in Pasadena at 211 E. Foothill Blvd.
Ralph's in Monrovia at 1193 Huntington Dr.
3) Reported by domino007
Ralphs in 13321 Jamboree Rd, Tustin
Ralphs in Irvine on Alton, Walnut and Irvine Blvd
Reported by DaveInLA:
Ralphs in Brea- 305 W Imperial Hwy. VGC was purchased in 12/2014.
Reported by 46sky:
Ralphs in Culver City on Venice Blvd - VGC purchased 2/2015.
Reported by Chrisflyer66:
Ralphs in San Diego on Sports Arena - VGCs purchased in 2014-2015.
Ralph's - 1435 W Chapman Ave, Orange, CA 92868 - Purchased 12/2019
Seems to me that only People in so.Cal are reporting
Gift Card Fraud !!!
Mar 27, 2016, 7:13 pm
#766
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Los Angles
Posts: 2,101
How to reach the 'resolutions'?
What do they ask for?
How long does it take to get the replacement?
How many drained card u had?
circles and arrows can be helpful
Mar 27, 2016, 9:08 pm
#767
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Posts: 1,929
Mar 28, 2016, 8:09 am
#768
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Los Angles
Posts: 2,101
I feel there is a flaw in the processing system, defective magnetic strip or an insider job -- at the Ralphs back office? banks processing? or visa terminals? so complicated....try to make more secure makes it sensitive and unstable.
Mar 28, 2016, 5:10 pm
#770
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Los Angles
Posts: 2,101
now I realize that us bank VGCs have major issues, why does US bank continue to sell these cards, take losses?
eventually will send me replacement?
Mar 30, 2016, 7:44 pm
#772
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: LAX
Programs: AA, DL, Hyatt, Hilton
Posts: 127
$500 GC Fraud @ Ralphs in Culver City, (off Venice Blvd), California.
Purchased the card and attempted to test it by buying a coffee - declined...
I called the number on the GC and they said it wasn't activated, and told me scan the GC and receipts and fax = to 414-341-7600.
A couple of days later I tried to check the balance and saw the card was drained at walmart. I called the GC # above again and they told me to fax gc and a statement of what happened to 414 371 6679.
Faxed today... now waiting... fml...
Purchased the card and attempted to test it by buying a coffee - declined...
I called the number on the GC and they said it wasn't activated, and told me scan the GC and receipts and fax = to 414-341-7600.
A couple of days later I tried to check the balance and saw the card was drained at walmart. I called the GC # above again and they told me to fax gc and a statement of what happened to 414 371 6679.
Faxed today... now waiting... fml...
Mar 30, 2016, 7:58 pm
#773
Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 71
$500 GC Fraud @ Ralphs in Culver City, (off Venice Blvd), California.
Purchased the card and attempted to test it by buying a coffee - declined...
I called the number on the GC and they said it wasn't activated, and told me scan the GC and receipts and fax = to 414-341-7600.
A couple of days later I tried to check the balance and saw the card was drained at walmart. I called the GC # above again and they told me to fax gc and a statement of what happened to 414 371 6679.
Faxed today... now waiting... fml...
Purchased the card and attempted to test it by buying a coffee - declined...
I called the number on the GC and they said it wasn't activated, and told me scan the GC and receipts and fax = to 414-341-7600.
A couple of days later I tried to check the balance and saw the card was drained at walmart. I called the GC # above again and they told me to fax gc and a statement of what happened to 414 371 6679.
Faxed today... now waiting... fml...
Also, for activation issues, it is much easier to call the Kroger number on the activation receipt to get it activated right away and drain it right away.
Mar 31, 2016, 9:43 am
#774
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Los Angles
Posts: 2,101
$500 GC Fraud @ Ralphs in Culver City, (off Venice Blvd), California.
Purchased the card and attempted to test it by buying a coffee - declined...
I called the number on the GC and they said it wasn't activated, and told me scan the GC and receipts and fax = to 414-341-7600.
A couple of days later I tried to check the balance and saw the card was drained at walmart. I called the GC # above again and they told me to fax gc and a statement of what happened to 414 371 6679.
Faxed today... now waiting... fml...
Purchased the card and attempted to test it by buying a coffee - declined...
I called the number on the GC and they said it wasn't activated, and told me scan the GC and receipts and fax = to 414-341-7600.
A couple of days later I tried to check the balance and saw the card was drained at walmart. I called the GC # above again and they told me to fax gc and a statement of what happened to 414 371 6679.
Faxed today... now waiting... fml...
I had only 12 cards drained!
each and every cards were very-very-very carefully checked by me and the cashiers
Knowing the risks, hanging blanks on the racks is invitation for the fraud? more like a fraud invitation than prevention? would that not be a scam?
Last edited by prasha11; Mar 31, 2016 at 9:56 am
Mar 31, 2016, 12:18 pm
#775
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: LAX
Programs: AA, DL, Hyatt, Hilton
Posts: 127
I had two US Bank GC not activated in the past. On the activation receipt, the balance was blank and had a message that says something like activation in 24 hours. Can you check your activation receipt to see if there is something similar?
Also, for activation issues, it is much easier to call the Kroger number on the activation receipt to get it activated right away and drain it right away.
Also, for activation issues, it is much easier to call the Kroger number on the activation receipt to get it activated right away and drain it right away.
Apr 1, 2016, 12:34 pm
#777
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Los Angles
Posts: 2,101
What other cards have fraud, PIN not working, debit not available and activation issues common,
what other cards I should stay away from?
Does the store gift cards like ebay have similar issues?
Apr 1, 2016, 7:42 pm
#778
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Posts: 1,929
US Bank. The fraud compromised problem cause the other problems with PIN, Error 83 or 55 or 18, etc. The activation issues are caused by compromised cards/accounts too.
Apr 1, 2016, 10:25 pm
#779
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Los Angles
Posts: 2,101
Apr 2, 2016, 1:04 am
#780
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Heaven
Posts: 552
Had some fraudulent transactions on staples (metabank) MC $200 giftcards. All of them were used by someone in Socal on same stores at same time. Not sure how's that even possible but, I filed the dispute with GC issuer. They are saying that it'll take upto 45 days for them to investigate and re-issue the cards. The way it works is that they'll dispute the transactions with the store where the fraudulent transactions took place and give them 45 days to respond back. Based upon the response they'll decide the next course of action.
Ai am thinking of filing a dispute with the CC issuer as I do not wait to miss the dispute window OR in case they try to deny my claim for whatever reason.
Ai am thinking of filing a dispute with the CC issuer as I do not wait to miss the dispute window OR in case they try to deny my claim for whatever reason.