Gift Card Fraud, it's finally happened to me.

[Decaf]

This gift card scam is getting out of hand day by day ..and the stores are not doing much about it .

These scams should be monitored the same way credit cards , debit cards or even counterfiet cash scams are monitored , so hard working folks don't lose their money. Too easy to pull this scam..IMHO.

So true! The sad thing about the whole situation is stores don't give a s#$t about about gcs they are selling. Since they are not financially responsible for the loss so why exercise prevention. When I buy a $1 long distance phone card from Dollarstore / convenience store, the LD cards are always kept behind the register and to think that a $100 GC just sitting there unattended... something is seriously wrong here.

[CrazyQT]

So true! The sad thing about the whole situation is stores don't give a s#$t about about gcs they are selling. Since they are not financially responsible for the loss so why exercise prevention. When I buy a $1 long distance phone card from Dollarstore / convenience store, the LD cards are always kept behind the register and to think that a $100 GC just sitting there unattended... something is seriously wrong here.

Dollar stores and convenience stores also do not sell thousands and thousands of dollars in gift cards a day during the holidays. It is pretty unrealistic to expect to a store to keep every single gift card they sell behind the counter. I know when I shop for a gift card I don't like to feel pressured by a waiting cashier to fetch my card for me and I sure wouldn't want to be behind someone that can't decide what card they want while I just want to check my items and get out of the store.

I have seen gift cards on the sales floor at many convenience stores, gas stations, etc. Fraud happens everywhere unfortunately. Just be smart about your purchases and make sure you get receipts and that the number for the card matches the number on the receipt.

[tjthemanto]

Dollar stores and convenience stores also do not sell thousands and thousands of dollars in gift cards a day during the holidays. It is pretty unrealistic to expect to a store to keep every single gift card they sell behind the counter. I know when I shop for a gift card I don't like to feel pressured by a waiting cashier to fetch my card for me and I sure wouldn't want to be behind someone that can't decide what card they want while I just want to check my items and get out of the store.

I have seen gift cards on the sales floor at many convenience stores, gas stations, etc. Fraud happens everywhere unfortunately. Just be smart about your purchases and make sure you get receipts and that the number for the card matches the number on the receipt.

That's not going to prevent the fraud we are talking about here & if the store decides to do nothing about it if your balance is stolen from your card by scammers by the scam we are talking about it, there is nothing much we can do.

Whether you have a receipt or not for the GC you bought , the exact same scam will take place no matter what..the scammers don't care whether you have a receipt or not, it doesn't make their scam any harder or easier, irrespective of your receipt.

I am pretty sure the OP was smart & has a receipt for the GC she bought with matching numbers , she got scammed anyways .

[CrazyQT]

That's not going to prevent the fraud we are talking about here & if the store decides to do nothing about it if your balance is stolen from your card by scammers by the scam we are talking about it, there is nothing much we can do.

Whether you have a receipt or not for the GC you bought , the exact same scam will take place no matter what..the scammers don't care whether you have a receipt or not, it doesn't make their scam any harder or easier, irrespective of your receipt.

I am pretty sure the OP was smart & has a receipt for the GC she bought with matching numbers , she got scammed anyways .

Sorry I should have been more clear. For the receipts/numbers matching I was thinking about the prepaid VISA and MC gift cards.

[canadascouponeer]

Wow this is super scary! I hope your issue gets resolved, it sucks being cheated out of a gift card

[Midnightly]

i do think there are much safer ways to have gift cards they don't NEED to be on the floor. they can also be much more restrictive..the giftcard itself could use numbers and letters...i've seen giftcards put on the shelf and be in order by number it's not hard for them to fake/figure out the numbers when a giftcard go exactly in order (123456,123457,123458 kinda thing) a scammer would just have to find the starting number then they would know all the numbers (not safe at all) and when a store uses the card they don't use the security number under the scratch area

i also don't see an issue with stores keeping a box of gift cards under the counter for safety reasons (like a shoe box cane easily hold thousands of cards) and like lotto display would just need to be refilled maybe once a day during peak season a store can also keep the gift card display up with a "cards available at service desk" sign above it.. or even do it the way costco does have fake cardboard cards up you bring that up to the desk they will give you the real thing...

seeing posts like these makes me jaded towards gift cards in general

[Trinigal]

Just got off the phone with Shoppers. They are still investigating and waiting for the stores to fax in their receipts to the IT department. I do hope this get resolved soon. To those posters who have had this happen to them, how long does it take to resolve this issue?

In the grand scheme of things, this is a minor annoyance but nothing any of us need.

[tjthemanto]

Sorry I should have been more clear. For the receipts/numbers matching I was thinking about the prepaid VISA and MC gift cards.

I agree with you though , they can't lock up the entire GC's ..too many cards & too time consuming..will waste customer's time & employees

I once just had to stand in WM for 20 mins to buy a 25 dollar bottle of perfume as it was locked up & the staff giving me the run around till they got someone with the keys ..and it wasn't even busy ..now imagine if it was a Saturday & they are doing it for each & every GC

[tjthemanto]

Just got off the phone with Shoppers. They are still investigating and waiting for the stores to fax in their receipts to the IT department. I do hope this get resolved soon. To those posters who have had this happen to them, how long does it take to resolve this issue?

In the grand scheme of things, this is a minor annoyance but nothing any of us need.

Expect a run around and lots & lots of patience & frustration before this thing is resolved.

You will need lot of persevarance & persistence before they handle this.

The sad thing is they won't even catch the original crooks & will just write it off as a cost of doing business , when they reimburse you .

They won't solve or fix the actual problem that caused this, but will have a temporary band aid solution & the same exact thing will happen again down the road to some other innocent customer

[Trinigal]

Well it's taken almost 3 months (and several phone calls) but I finally received my refund from Shoppers Drugmart. They sent me a $100 GC replacement over a month ago, but apparently could not find the $50 GC anywhere in their system. I got the $50 replacement GC today. I was going to wean off the Optimum points program when I heard about the Loblaws takeover; this whole incident has only made that resolution stronger.

I was told that the GCs were cashed in at two different Shoppers locations (neither of which I ever visited) but then given a different story about how the cards weren't loaded properly. At this point, I'm just glad that I wasn't out of pocket, just time and patience.

[tjthemanto]

Well it's taken almost 3 months (and several phone calls) but I finally received my refund from Shoppers Drugmart. They sent me a $100 GC replacement over a month ago, but apparently could not find the $50 GC anywhere in their system. I got the $50 replacement GC today. I was going to wean off the Optimum points program when I heard about the Loblaws takeover; this whole incident has only made that resolution stronger.

I was told that the GCs were cashed in at two different Shoppers locations (neither of which I ever visited) but then given a different story about how the cards weren't loaded properly. At this point, I'm just glad that I wasn't out of pocket, just time and patience.

Use this card ASAP ..before the same nonsense takes place with it ..they probably just picked up another card from the store and mailed it to you & maybe it didn't come from their Head Ofiice

[Natalka]

So glad this finally got resolved for you!