Gift Card Skimming Warning

J

janetdoe

Level 2 Member
I just bought several $500 Visa gift cards at a local grocery store. When I was opening them, I noticed that one of the packages had been split up the side, and when I opened it, the gum had been rubbed off the mag strip, but nowhere else on the card. I called the number on the card immediately to report it lost/stolen, and they are mailing me a replacement card. I then took the packaging and card back to the store and told the manager that they might have a problem.

For those of you who aren't familiar, what this likely means is that someone opened the package and used a swiper to record the card data, and they probably grabbed the 3-digit security code, too. So then they can continually/regularly check the balance on the card to see if it's activated, and as soon as they see it's activated, they can use the card before you do.

Just a reminder, especially for the people starting out, that it's always very important to make sure the package is completely unopened, untampered with, and you shouldn't grab one from the shelf if the paper tab has been already torn off the bar code.
 
FindAWay

FindAWay

Level 2 Member
A useful reminder. Care to disclose the geographic location (as specific or general as you'd like)?
 
J

janetdoe

Level 2 Member
DFW. Various Meta VS, I have now seen them at two different grocery chains in two different parts of town, and a friend reported he had gotten stung in yet a third part of town. The ones I saw were blatant, packaging slit on the side just wide enough to get the card out and not even glued back, but he didn't notice anything weird with the packaging on his.

I've stopped taking anything that is not absolutely pristine off the shelf, no bent corners, no glue smudges on the seams, no gaps or breaks in any of the perforations, etc.
 
TravelDean

TravelDean

Say NO to road trips
Two of my 3 MCGCs from Office Max had funds drained from them before I used them. I was dumb and waited a couple weeks to unload.
Had to file a claim with the GC maker and they provided replacement cards with the remaining balance.
Still waiting to see if they get the rest back.
Packaging did not appear to have been tampered with but the cards were close in sequence to each other.
 
M

Mark Pepper

New Member
Wow, I never thought about that possibility. Thanks for sharing.

On a separate note, I have had my credit card cloned 4 times in the past few years. It's always been my AMEX card. Having read about credit card skimmers being added at gas station pumps, I now only use gift cards (i.e. Mobil, Shell, etc) to purchase gas. There's rarely anything of value left on the card after refueling (although that could change if gas keeps dropping), so my risk of having the gift card cloned is low. And, I get 5x miles when I buy them at Staples using my Chase Ink card.

So, a minor inconvenience that I hope reduces the chances of getting my credit card cloned.
 
F

Falim

New Member
This is why I hate holding on to VGCs for more than 24 hours. I always try to liquidate them the next day.
 
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