I want to give gift cards to some of my friends for the holidays but I’m worried about gift card identity theft. How can I protect myself and my friends?
The Virtual Mugging
Kudos to you for not only sharing your hard-earned money with your friends but protecting them, too. Gift card theft is getting to be more and more of a problem. Here’s how it works: identity thieves go into stores and scan the bar codes on the backs of the empty store cards. Then they wait for people to buy the cards and put money on them. Once there is money on the card the ID thieves use it to buy stuff online and have it shipped all over the country so it can’t be traced. Meanwhile the person walking around with the card has no idea their card has been emptied. It’s like being virtually mugged.
Score A Clean Gift Card
But you can protect yourself and stick it to the ID thieves. The trick is to use cards that were never in the store to begin with. Almost all gift cards are purchased in stores where they are vulnerable to ID theft. Even large companies buying hundreds of cards have to pick them up at a store. However, if a card is lost or stolen the new card gets issued by the company’s headquarters, not the store. If the card comes from the corporate office you don’t have to worry about sketchy guys trolling the stores scanning gift cards.
Protect Yourself And Your Friends
If you receive a card with no receipt use it right away (cha-ching!) or spend a small amount and use the tracking number on the receipt to report it lost. If you’re shopping for friends a couple of weeks in advance, buy the card, then report it lost or stolen. This way a new card will be issued to you directly by the company’s headquarters instead of the store. It can take up to two weeks to get the new cards but they’ll be safe. If you don’t have time to wait then make sure to give the receipt with the gift card so that your friend can report it and have it replaced. This way you can relax and know that not only are you giving a great gift but your friend will truly enjoy it. Besides, it’s always fun to stick it to an ID thief.
Our Ask the Expert for your money questions is Rebecca Schreiber, a Certified Financial Planner with Solid Ground Financial Planning. What questions do you have about handling your hard-earned money? Ask now before you blow another dollar!
