Visa was sued on Tuesday by consumers who said the card payments network failed to make prepaid "Vanilla" gift cards less likely to being drained by thieves.

Ira Schuman, who leads the proposed class action in the White Plains, New York, federal court, said he bought eight $500 Vanilla cards as holiday gifts for his employees in 2022 and 2023, only to learn later that cards had been emptied.
According to the complaint, the non-reloadable debit cards are sold at CVS, Target, Walgreens and other grocers and retailers in thin cardboard sleeves that thieves can open and, after recording account information, reseal without being detected.