Watch For Gift Card Scam focused on ID numbers

Criminals copying gift card serial numbers before they are purchased

Armed with serial numbers they call merchants to check balance

In a rather basic but very effective scam, criminals are taking advantage of easy access to gift cards that are sold in grocery stores and retail malls. You know the kiosks, they have tens of gift cards ready to be bought. The gift cards are from Apple, iTunes, Urban Outfitters, Sears and more. When the gift cards from these merchants are on the racks they have no value assigned to them so they are not protected. The cards do, however, already have a pre-assigned identification number. If the crooks can get these nubmers before the cards are purchased they are set to strike.

As you can imagine, once armed with all the gift card numbers (they usually use a hand scanner in some corner of the store) they simply wait a week or so and hope the cards have been purchased and have dollars added to them. They then call the merchants to verify. Once told of the balances on each respective gift card, they go on a shopping spree.

This certainly is a concern to the gift card industry but the problem has been recognized and is being addressed.