Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - 'Tis the week before Christmas, and all over town, people are scrambling for the best gifts around. But as you rush through stores and online, beware of scammers ready to rip you off.
Kat Schmeider of the Better Business Bureau in Buffalo tells WBEN gift card scams have jumped up 50 percent rom last year. She says one of the biggest ones that is seen are fake advertisements on social media or emails that say you've won a free gift card. "If you see anything like that, it's best to keep scrolling and not click on any links," advises Schmeider.
Another such scam happens in stores, according to Schmeider. "Scammers have been able to take an existing gift card that's on a shelf and place a sticker over the existing barcode with a new barcode. And then when you go to cash out and load the card, the money is loaded on to a separate account that the scammer controls," adds Schmeider. She suggests you take a look at the gift card box to make sure it hasn't been opened or tampered with and run your finger along the back of the barcode there to make sure there hasn't been another sticker placed over it.
Schmeider says if you see a tampered card, alert the store immediately. "If you did, unfortunately, purchase that item and end up running into a scam, you should report it to the gift card company or the company that you bought it from as well," says Schmeider.
Schmeider tells us with a lot of these scams, unfortunately, it's pretty unlikely that you're going to get your money back. "One thing we would recommend is that you always pay with a credit card when you're doing your shopping. Most credit card companies have mechanisms in place should you run into scams or fraud. That's going to be your best shot at getting your money back," notes Schmeider.
Crime and terrorism expert Brad Garrett says people are also getting ripped off online. Garrett says some scammers like to spoof well-known sites. "Sometimes, you look it up and the contact is some Gmail address, and they're just obvious, and there are others that have been painstakingly copied so it looks like it's coming from an LL Bean or other legitimate store." says Garrett.
Garrett says people fall behind in shopping and rush on those sites. "They click and they don't go to the legitimate site, it goes to a site that looks like it, and when you buy something, you're not getting it from the store, but you're giving credit card information to the scammer," says Garrett.
Additional advice from the BBB:
Be wary of websites that offer to check your gift card's balance. According to BBB.org/ScamTracker reports, some websites that claim to check your gift card balance are really a way to steal money off your card. These sites ask for your card's ID number and PIN or security code. Then, scammers use the information to drain the money from your card. Here's an example of this scam in action.
Register your gift card. If the retailer allows the option to register the gift card, take full advantage. This makes it easier to protect the balance; that way, you can report it sooner and potentially end up saving the money that is stored on the card. Change the PIN on the card, and don't delay in using the money. The longer a card sits around, the more likely a cybercriminal is to steal the balance.
Treat it like cash. If the card is lost or stolen, report it to the issuer immediately. Most issuers have toll-free telephone numbers to report a lost or stolen card – find it on the card or online.
