January4
New Gift Card Scams
A new spate of gift card scams has surfaced with a growing number of employees committing gift card fraud. The New York Times reported that:
When shoppers show up after Christmas looking to redeem their new gift cards, clerks will turn their backs on the customer and pocket the card. Then the employee turns around and hands an identical but empty card back to the unsuspecting customer, apologizing for the fact that the card doesn’t seem to be working.
The customer will rarely kick up a fuss because the card was a gift and they are unlikely to call shenanigans when they don’t know the history of the card.
However, there must be a limited number of times a retailer can try on the scam before their boss gets wise.