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 !!!
Jul 15, 2014, 7:44 pm
#94
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 53
I want to say a huge thankyou to the OP and others for discussing this type of fraud. Tonight I went to a store I've purchased VGC from previously... there was ONE left on the rack, and when I turned it over, the part of the pkg that covers the card#/barcode had been torn away.
Due to the warnings posted on FT, I passed it up instead of buying. I debated a couple seconds, then decided to stand in line at Customer Service to turn in the GC and warn the clerk it had possibly been compromised. She told me Winn-Dixie has a process that prevents the card from being pre-stolen.
I tried to explain that once exposed, the card's info can be stolen & applied to a different card, but she assured me that WD's activation process prevents that.
Either way, I didn't buy the card, and hopefully it won't be placed back on the shelf for some other poor sap to get robbed. Just wanted to say a HUGE thankyou to Sam2014 & Hamhead for their warnings. I hope this helps others.
Due to the warnings posted on FT, I passed it up instead of buying. I debated a couple seconds, then decided to stand in line at Customer Service to turn in the GC and warn the clerk it had possibly been compromised. She told me Winn-Dixie has a process that prevents the card from being pre-stolen.
I tried to explain that once exposed, the card's info can be stolen & applied to a different card, but she assured me that WD's activation process prevents that.
Either way, I didn't buy the card, and hopefully it won't be placed back on the shelf for some other poor sap to get robbed. Just wanted to say a HUGE thankyou to Sam2014 & Hamhead for their warnings. I hope this helps others.
Jul 15, 2014, 7:56 pm
#96
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Posts: 1,929
It sounds like just the barcode itself was exposed and easily readable, not the 16 digit card number on the other side ?
Jul 15, 2014, 8:01 pm
#97
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Posts: 1,929
I sometimes find cards without a back strip that have been reshelved. I had the cashier open it up completely to make sure there was no physical tampering of any kind, and purchased it.
Jul 15, 2014, 8:12 pm
#98
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 3,506
Checking for a sticker bar code is still a easy well to tell. I know cashiers don't really look for that but it is something to look out for since it can be flushed with the rest of the background if not inspected closely.
Aug 18, 2014, 3:07 pm
#99
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 692
I have the same problem with a Meta bank gift card I purchased from a grocery store in so-cal last month. I already posted that in a previous thread.
I have purchased a US bank visa gift card from Ralphs and when I try to call to check the balance and set a PIN, automatic voice system won’t recognize the card number. I call the customer service and the agent said the card is not activated properly. She said, I have to fax the receipt and some other documents to their office. Due to my other experience I got very frustrated and also I was going out of the country the very next day of this incident.
The magnetic stripe has the same problem as others specified. There was not any indication of any tampering on the outside cover. I have called atleast 10 times and talk with different customer service agents. Some of them said they activated the card. When I checked the balance it won’t accept the number. At last after a day of frustration one agent was able to activate the card. Then the card reader won’t read the card. Even after I remove the gummy thing on the magnetic strip the card won’t work.
I don’t want someone taking the money on the card like last time. So immediately I have to liquidate the card using another method. It is very scary to buy a gift card from a store in so-cal. I live near Hemet.
I want to make picture of the card and post it but I already removed and cleaned the thing on the magnetic stripe. One hint is normally there will be some soft glue on the card but this is specifically very hard and not soft substance on the magnetic stripe. Hope this helps
I have purchased a US bank visa gift card from Ralphs and when I try to call to check the balance and set a PIN, automatic voice system won’t recognize the card number. I call the customer service and the agent said the card is not activated properly. She said, I have to fax the receipt and some other documents to their office. Due to my other experience I got very frustrated and also I was going out of the country the very next day of this incident.
The magnetic stripe has the same problem as others specified. There was not any indication of any tampering on the outside cover. I have called atleast 10 times and talk with different customer service agents. Some of them said they activated the card. When I checked the balance it won’t accept the number. At last after a day of frustration one agent was able to activate the card. Then the card reader won’t read the card. Even after I remove the gummy thing on the magnetic strip the card won’t work.
I don’t want someone taking the money on the card like last time. So immediately I have to liquidate the card using another method. It is very scary to buy a gift card from a store in so-cal. I live near Hemet.
I want to make picture of the card and post it but I already removed and cleaned the thing on the magnetic stripe. One hint is normally there will be some soft glue on the card but this is specifically very hard and not soft substance on the magnetic stripe. Hope this helps
This is for Incomm, she started a case for me and said it should be resolved in 3-5 business days. Reading all these stories though has me scared, not sure what to do?
Aug 18, 2014, 5:02 pm
#102
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,760
Yours seems to be the card not being properly activated - that sometimes happens at CVS or other merchants.
Sep 4, 2014, 1:20 pm
#103
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 168
Gift Card Fraud...dispute with CC issuer?
I purchased a $500 Metabank VGC at Vons last week and it had been tampered with. The scammers drained the card the next day before I even had a chance to use it.
I have filed a dispute with Metabank and they are telling me it will be 45 to 90 days to get a resolution.
That seems like an unreasonable amount of time to wait without even knowing if I will get a refund. What about filing a dispute on the purchase of the gift card directly with the CC issuer which happens to be Comenity Bank.
I purchased a product for $500 and did not get what I paid for. Why should I have to wait 90 days to get a refund?
Anyone have experience with this?
I have filed a dispute with Metabank and they are telling me it will be 45 to 90 days to get a resolution.
That seems like an unreasonable amount of time to wait without even knowing if I will get a refund. What about filing a dispute on the purchase of the gift card directly with the CC issuer which happens to be Comenity Bank.
I purchased a product for $500 and did not get what I paid for. Why should I have to wait 90 days to get a refund?
Anyone have experience with this?
Sep 4, 2014, 3:16 pm
#105
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 3,506
I purchased a $500 Metabank VGC at Vons last week and it had been tampered with. The scammers drained the card the next day before I even had a chance to use it.
I have filed a dispute with Metabank and they are telling me it will be 45 to 90 days to get a resolution.
That seems like an unreasonable amount of time to wait without even knowing if I will get a refund. What about filing a dispute on the purchase of the gift card directly with the CC issuer which happens to be Comenity Bank.
I purchased a product for $500 and did not get what I paid for. Why should I have to wait 90 days to get a refund?
Anyone have experience with this?
I have filed a dispute with Metabank and they are telling me it will be 45 to 90 days to get a resolution.
That seems like an unreasonable amount of time to wait without even knowing if I will get a refund. What about filing a dispute on the purchase of the gift card directly with the CC issuer which happens to be Comenity Bank.
I purchased a product for $500 and did not get what I paid for. Why should I have to wait 90 days to get a refund?
Anyone have experience with this?
The reason why it takes so long (90 days) is because they need to investigate what happened to the funds. They can't just take your word for it and give you the funds immediately now or else people could just call in and cry wolf that their card funds were stripped, get the MB funds in return and drain those immediately. It sucks to be in your situation but unless you have more details on what the packaging looked like and where it was liquidated at, its hard for MB to justify giving you funds until they have done their due diligence. Honestly if you can't float $500 for 3 months then you probably should not be in this game.
Last edited by ericdabbs; Sep 4, 2014 at 3:26 pm