by Rodolfo N. Lentejas, Jr.

Created on: November 20, 2009   Last Updated: November 21, 2009

During the gift-giving season many people prefer to buy gift cards, whether to be used as a gift or to buy presents for their loved ones. As a flood of consumers spend a lot of money buying gift cards, a flood of scammers also await to rip off their cards.

So how do crooks empty a gift card?

In the retail stores, gift cards are displayed in racks for everybody and so that buyers of gift cards can easily spot them. Like just anybody else, scammers have access to the gift cards and they copy the information in the cards using high-tech scanners or copy it by writing, with no one actually suspecting it. Now, when someone comes to buy the gift card, he may not be aware that the card he is about to purchase might already be empty by the time he uses it.

This is how scammers use the opportunity of the season to further their hidden plans. Therefore, people are warned to take extra care when buying a gift card, especially in retail stores or even from online sources. In buying a gift card online, buyers are advised not to be enticed by auction Websites that sell cheap gift cards because most likely the gift cards that are being sold in these sites are stolen, counterfeit or used and empty.

When buying a gift card from the retail stores, people are also advised to ask the cashier to scan the gift card in front of them. In personally seeing the gift card being scanned in front of them, the risk of buying tampered card is minimal. In fact, it is also an occurrence that store employees are involved in the scams by swapping an empty card instead of giving the real one to the buyers. Another important thing to remember when buying a gift card is that an authentic card reflects the balance on it once it is purchased. So gift card buyers are advised to carefully notice the transaction.

Gift card buyers are also advised that when buying a gift card, they must keep the receipt with them as a proof of purchase. This is advisable because many retailers can actually track where the gift card was purchased, activated and used. Buyers can now ask for a replacement only if the receipt is kept.

Finally, when buying a gift card from any online source, people are advised to register the gift card in the store's Website. Although not all retail stores have this kind of service, yet this is helpful for buyers to easily report if the gift card is lost or stolen.

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