Gift Card Scams on the Rise: Author Gets Scammed After Buying Tampered Card, Highlights Lack of Recourse for Victims
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Author purchased a $125 Vanilla Visa gift card that had been tampered with - the card number was scratched off by a scammer.
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Gift card scams are on the rise, with a 50% increase reported in 2022. Scammers are using advanced techniques like AI deepfakes.
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No one is immune from gift card scams. Even savvy New Yorkers have fallen victim.
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Walgreens provided little help when author reported the scammed card. Vanilla Visa required excessive personal info before investigating.
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BBB recommends being wary of any gift card payment requests, contacting merchants to verify, and promptly reporting scammed cards.