How to avoid falling for a gift card draining scam

Gift cards remain one of the most popular holiday gifts, but scammers are finding new ways to steal before you even buy them.
ITWire

Buyer beware - popular Australian gift cards found vulnerable to brute-force PIN cracking

You know the story - purchase (or receive) a gift card from the supermarket. Scratch the PIN, use the card number and PIN combination to buy something you want. Yet, Flight Formula founder and creator ...

Americans lost $1B to ‘gift card draining’ scam. Now authorities and retailers are targeting the organized crime behind it. How to protect yourself

Authorities estimate that sophisticated organized criminal groups are “draining” gift cards before genuine shoppers ever use ...
LEX 18

Buying gift cards this holiday? Here’s how to make sure the one you give actually works

Thieves are stealing and tampering with gift cards on store shelves, draining the balances the moment they’re activated and leaving shoppers with worthless cards.
WGAL

Scammers have developed tricks to steal gift card balances. Here's how to protect yourself

EMBARRASSMENT OF GIVING A WORTHLESS GIFT. GIFT CARDS EXPECTED TO BE THE MOST POPULAR TYPE OF PRESENT HOLIDAY SEASON. FOR THE 16TH CONSECUTIVE YEAR, ACCORDING TO WALLETHUB. BUT UNFORTUNATELY, CROOKS ...

Gift card scams spike during holiday season, BBB warns shoppers to stay alert

The Better Business Bureau says this season is shaping up to be especially tempting for criminals looking to turn Christmas ...
turnto10

As holiday shopping gets underway, gift card draining persists

(WJAR) — Scammers love gift cards. Americans are losing hundreds of millions of dollars a year because of it. But that won't stop us from buying millions more gift cards as the holiday shopping season ...

The 'gift card draining' scam

Authorities estimate that sophisticated organized criminal groups are “draining” gift cards before genuine shoppers ever use ...