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.
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.