Gift Cards Are Crooks New Target:

Gift card fraud and theft have increased dramatically over the past year and a half. 

Two fairly new methods are at the forefront of the problem and both have been relatively effective.

The first method involves thieves stealing a number of gift cards from a store before they are purchased.  The gift cards are packaged in plastic that the thief slices open to remove the cards. 

The thief then replaces the cards with another card, returns the package to the rack, and waits for someone to purchase the gift card.  The stolen card is activated upon purchase and the thieves are off on a spending spree.

The second method involves re-encoding the magnetic strips on gift cards with stolen credit card information.  According to detectives, this method is far more prevalent than the first method described above.

As crooks get smarter and smarter, so too do gift card companies.  PIN numbers are now included on a number of gift cards as well as countless other security measures.  Be a smart gift card consumer and only buy your cards from