STOLEN Gift Card Balances - HELP !!!

[CouponLover618]

So I purchased a bunch of gift cards from SDM a week ago to take advantage of the 8,000 bonus points offer; went to use one of the $100 Esso cards and there was only $9 left on the card!!!!!!!!! I know I didn't use it before and when I did a history on the card, it says the card was used last Thursday.

Has anyone had balances stolen from their cards before and if so, who did you call and was the issue resolved? So far, I called SDM and they said they couldn't do anything and that I would need to call Esso whcih opens up at 9am.

[luckbealady]

I think it would be Esso, and they'd probably have to open up an investigation into the card.

Which means it could be a while before you get any resolution.

But I've not had any experience with this myself, so I can't say for sure.

[nash0109]

That is awful!! How does someone use the card without having the actual card?? That is scary! I bought $150 worth of Petro cards during the promo but I haven't had a problem. I really hope they fix this for you!

[luv2dv8]

If the transaction history says that it was loaded properly at SDM then it's an Esso issue. GL- this is going to take a while!

[keljonezie]

My Mom also had a problem with one of her Esso cards. It should have had $50 but had a balance of $0. She went to Shoppers and they as well said it was a problem with Esso. I haven't heard back what Esso said to her yet though. I hope it gets resolved for both of you.

[super807]

I was going to get an Esso card during the promo, but when I looked at the back of the card I noticed that it didn't have a PIN number that needs to be scratched to use the card. So I bought a Petro Canada card instead (we use both places), because the Petro-Can cards do have a PIN that needs to be scratched.

I remembered someone in the gift card thread last year cautioning that having a PIN that needs to be scratched is a mechanism to prevent theft of the balances of these types of cards. If someone takes the number of the card while the card is still in the store, available to be purchased, after you buy it and the cashier scans it to activate it, they can use the balance.

I also noticed that the SDM cards that had Christmas images on them (the gift and the teddy bear) had the PIN that needed to be scratched, but that the ones with the lipstick did not. So I did not buy the lipstick ones.

I hope this is not what happened to you, and hope that it will all be worked out.

[torontogal12]

Sorry this happened to you, Esso head office will probably need to handle it.

This happened to my mom exactly with a Hudson Bay gift card. She talked to the store manager and they investigated it and gave her a new gift card within one week. They were very nice about it.

Their investigation found out that the gift card had been purchased in Toronto but was spent in Vancouver within two days or so, so no way to mail it to someone that quickly. Someone had gone to the store in Toronto, likely stolen the empty gift card off the shelf, then sent the number to someone in Vancouver, and had them clone one with the same barcode in Vancouver. The Toronto scammer then goes back into the store and puts the empty (but cloned) card back on the shelf for someone to buy with real money. They then check the GC balance every day to see when the card has been purchased. Then they go on a shopping spree

By the time mom had used the GC, the balance had been gone for several weeks.

This is why I always post a warning on the SDM gift card promo thread every year. Don't put too much money on gift cards because they have little fraud protection.

If you are going to put a lot of money on gift cards, be sure the cashier loads one that is behind the counter, where scammers can't get their hands on the gift card number. Or, save a few gift cards in your home and then reload those same gift cards over and over, once you know it is a safe card to use. Try to get gift cards that have a scratch off PIN on the back. If the PIN is unscratched, you are likely safe

[Decaf]

I am worried, I have also bought Esso GCs without scratch PIN.

Thanks for the explanation torontogal12! I was wondering how on earth the scammers can get the $ from GCs when they don't have GCs, now I know.

[torontogal12]

spend them as soon as possible

I am worried, I have also bought Esso GCs without scratch PIN.

Thanks for the explanation torontogal12! I was wondering how on earth the scammers can get the $ from GCs when they don't have GCs, now I know.

[QueenH]

Thanks for the info everyone. I just finish registering all the GC's I purchased, Tims, Chapters. The only problem was the gas cards, they say register them online but they dont work and when you call the company (petro) they say well the card is valid so its ok but theres no way to register it. I was told it is protected on my account but I wasnt even able to register it so who knows. Good Luck.

[CouponLover618]

Thanks for your feedback, everyone! I spoke with Esso and they will be investigating. When I got home, I checked my other gift cards and it's actually $491 that was stolen between all of my cards. One card had a balance stolen today at noon! The nerve of these people!

I sure hope this gets resolved soon and I hope others are not affected, although I'm sure I'm not the only one!

[CrazyQT]

Thanks for your feedback, everyone! I spoke with Esso and they will be investigating. When I got home, I checked my other gift cards and it's actually $491 that was stolen between all of my cards. One card had a balance stolen today at noon! The nerve of these people!

I sure hope this gets resolved soon and I hope others are not affected, although I'm sure I'm not the only one!

WHAT?!? That's horrible. Where did you buy your cards at? I would cry if someone stole my balances considering I bought $900 worth of GC all for the same retail outlet. I just checked the balances and so far they are safe. It's kinda hard to spend $900 in gas over a week or two.

[imagine]

Yikes! So sorry that this happened to you, I hope the Esso office is able to sort this out for you!!

This makes me nervous as I bought $200 Esso gcs for my brother but he's currently out of country and I don't drive so will have to patiently wait for his return and hope for the best.

[toban]

That is awful! I hope Esso resolves this issue for you. I plan on checking any gift card I purchase. I admit I have never checked the scratch pin on past gift cards.. never experienced issues. Now I plan on doing so each time.

[keljonezie]

Wow, I'm really nervous now. The bulk of my cards were for Esso :S