Police say to remove packaging, double check gift cards before checkout amid new scam
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- Опубліковано 6 гру 2023
- An East Bay Police Department is warning shoppers of a new gift card scam going around this holiday season.
abc7ne.ws/3RewLsV
#giftcard #scam #police #holiday #shopping #abc #abc7news
Imagine how much GOOD could be done if they would expend the same energy doing something legal.
Like getting a se one job or a first one, ridiculous.
Facts
It's easy money that's why they do it
THIS IS AMERIKKA HOME OF THEFT AND SLAVE LABOR MAM
As well as the delight for a sociopath to scam a mark. Makes these sickos feel like geniuses. Just ask drumpf. "I love the uneducated voters!"
The stores needs to put those cards behind the counters, this has been going on for years
Happens behind the counter too when the employee is in on it
_'Righto!'_ Stole my comment! ... These cards are no different than cash, just waiting for thieves to take advantage of in plain sight. My plain advice: avoid purchasing them - simply too many [latest] scams going on out there.
Just do away with gift cards already
Yep happened to me a few years back on an Amazon gift card
Now I know why my Panera gift card had nothing on it.
Don't buy them at all. All stores should have them behind the counter/locked up. It should not be our responsibility!!!!!!!!!!!😡😡😡😡😡😡
That is a great idea They put cigarettes behind the counter.
It defeats the purpose of a "gift" card. How would it look if someone gave an open gift card as a gift?
@angelmac5380 You leave your card in the packaging?? 🤨 Unless it's one of those credit card style gift cards that you need the instructions to use, most branded gift cards are perfectly fine to gift 'naked.' Lol, I've received plenty of branded cards without the packaging over the years and never had a problem with it or the card.
Presentation is everything.
@@angelmac5380 Which is why you buy a nice gift card (the foldable paper one) and an envelope to place the ugly plastic thing in.
@@57thorns what are you talking about?
So sick of crooks & scammers! Can’t even answer my phone anymore & have to always double check texts & emails. Stores are having to lock up deodorant & shampoo. Now we gotta lock up the gift cards.
People using deodorants and shampoos then return them back to the store?
@@RaveMasterrscums are stealing that kind of stuff and reselling online. Like the do with baby formula. Criminals stealing everything nowadays.
It's a shame that stores are having to lock up so many things. It's a pain for both the customers and employees. Answer is locked and loaded armed guards with pepper spray and stun guns if meeded. And I don't care if it's only deodorant, STEALING IS STEALING. And the last time I checked it was a crime, with California being the exception. And that's one of the problems. An exception is made and then thugs in all the other states think it is a free for all.
@@ericstandefer9138thanks, will take note of that.
Don’t forget all the “skimmers” at the gas pumps and the good ol package thieves 🤔
As someone who works hard for everything I own, I have nothing but contempt for thieves.
hell yeah it's complete disgusting, why even take the risk over pennies compared to the penalties.. i'd never steal
@CodCats they drop outs who never had parents in their life or was taught to be a thief. We don't know. But they stupid.😂
I second that!
Tell that to Elizabeth Holmes and all those white collar crimes that ruined many lives.
The government is the biggest thief
Cutting all those cards, sealing them back up, then checking and waiting until they're activated. That's a lot of time and energy.
@raymond19001 I wonder if it's an inside job. If the cashier notifies the thief that the purchase was made, it makes things a lot easier. All those cards go missing and no one notices, that's interesting.
It's because it's a inside job
Likely, these criminals don't have jobs so they've got a lot of time on their hands.
@@theotheleo6830yes sir im waiting on my 250k payout fuvk work
@@theotheleo6830that’s their full time job 😂
The stores should have these people on camera taking the cards and putting them back.
probably employees.
You would think. Everything else is on camera.
Eye in the sky 😊
Thank you for reporting this.
“This is a scam that we’ve been seeing and now we’re seeing it for the first time” …huh ?
I think she meant to say hearing about then to say seeing
seeing or hearing about it elsewhere first then
seeing it happen in their jurisdiction for the first time. Weirdly worded for sure though.
Yes I caught that too.
@@MrCornpop I said that first
@@terenarosa4790 I said that thirdst
How about keep all gift cards behind register for employee access only.
Maybe it's the employees doing it.
@@user-xr1xs1zy2z Good point. Maybe a gift card vending machine. That's chained to the wall so they can't steal that too.
@user-xr1xs1zy2z it always an inside job.
@@user-xr1xs1zy2z If employees are doing it. They would find it on the cameras and fine the employees and fire them
What if they put all that effort into working a career and investing their money?
Some people are career criminals. They can’t work ethically and honestly. They always find ways to cheat and deceive others and the system, without feeling any sense of remorse.
They never will unofortunately
@@mikewhocheeseharry5292 Psychopathy.
HAHAHA
That would be expecting too much from some people.
I went directly to a restaurant to buy gift cards. Person directed me to the bar to purchase them. She gave me the receipt, gift receipt, and gift card denomination receipts. She pointed to the one that was the free $10 extra one which I placed in a separate pocket. When I got home, I realized receipt showed a different card number for $10. I thought it was just a simple mistake. I kept the actual $10 card and gave everyone else the other ones. When I went a month later to use that card there was NO money on the card. Thank goodness I kept receipts, and manager resolved the situation. Guess bartender gave herself a $10 tip that day 😡
It could have been a simple mistake. Maybe instead of giving stupid gift cards, give cash. At least the recipients can spend the cash wherever they like
This is happening at target, Nordstrom, Nike, everywhere!!!! I hate crooks.
I had the same kind of thing happen at Walgreens once. I was buying multiple Amazon gift cards because of a discount. I told the elderly cashier that I needed to use separate payment method, so please ring them up one at a time and let me pay for each one separately. However, after the first one she rang up the second one without splitting them. When I told her that was a mistake, she said the only way to resolve it is to get a whole new gift card and start over. So we did. But she was doing a terrible job of keeping the correct receipt with the correct card. She just seemed really confused. When I left, she said the one she threw in the trash was the one that they canceled. I went to my car and checked them all and sure enough one of them had zero value. Went back inside, called the manager up who looked through the trashcan and found the activated $100 gift card in there. 🙄 I’m guessing it was incompetence rather than malice, but you still have to be so careful and watch out for yourself!
Well yes you confused her because you were being a pain in the a.. using different payment methods for each card. No one does that just to get a discount.
@@katemiller7874 I saved $100 total -- $20 off 5 separate $100 Amazon gift cards. 20%. No one would do it for that kind of discount?
stores should just keep the cards behind the counter. easy solve
I thought you were keeping yours in your 💩🕳
I think so too now
easier solution would be to not put them in decorative holders. if you buy a straight talk card or PS network card or something, it's just the card.
Here’s the problem: I work at CVS and I’ve never had this many issues with gift cards in the past. The packaging is perfect, but once you open it up, the cards have been tampered with. We’ve gotten notice before that the very people who are packing the cards in production at their facilities are the same ones who have been tampering cards, and apparently they are currently investigating that whole situation. I’ve only seen it with iTunes and Visa Vanilla gift cards so far. There’s no way of knowing if your card has been tampered with unless you rip off the packaging before purchasing, that’s what I’ve been doing for customers lately to at least prevent them in some way from getting scammed.
Just give cash
This the first story I've seen with useful information on how to protect yourself from this scam. Thanks!
I was worried when I first watched this because I was about to buy my sister a Barnes and noble gift card for christmas. Then I remember the usual suspects can’t read 🤣
Are you aware that Amazon has those books for a fraction of the price
@@Dahmer_Jeff Are you aware f*ck Amazon
Why not give your sister cash? At least she can spend it where she wants to, and you don’t have to worry about getting a tampered with gift card….simple solution
That's a joke, right?
“This is a scam we have been seeing and now we are seeing it for the first time” What?
This problem actually happened to me last year when I spent 300$. Except the front numbers were faded and the number we called always called to a person that had a indian accent that was asking us for unnecessary information and telling us false balances on the card. I think stores should place cards behind the counter so only the employees have access to giving and taking cards.
That's exactly what they do at Costco. They place unusable cardboard cards on the shelf that you take to the register. Once purchased, you pick up the actual card from a manned booth that is locked when the store is closed.
@@theotheleo6830 Wasn't aware Costco does that. I think every store that sells cards should follow that sort of thing.
Might sound Indian but most likely Chinese 🇨🇳. For years now the Chinese have been deliberately learning the Indian accent to scam people and so the Indians take the blame and also harder to track the calls. Indians also scam but they are human traffiked and forced to do and even have their family harmed and crippled and themselves too and even killed if they do not reach a quota of success to their scam calls. Also many Indians are tricked into scamming and near impossible to get out of. Many apply for tech support or other company customer service then find out it’s really making scam calls. Many students choose to tech support and customer service to help them through college but sadly many are tricked into forced scamming. If they call you, have a conversation with them instead of abusing them, as tempting as it is at times. Most will break down crying and even admit it. These INDIAN India 🇮🇳 scammers are innocent. It’s their bosses and pimps that you need to be angry at. There are legitimate INNOCENT Indian call centers
Important side note. 🛑 Have The Cashier Or Store Employee, as she said "Tear Open Gift Cards" to check if they are cut. Unless you want to be accidentally accused of the same crime you're trying to prevent. 🤔
Will the store even allow a bunch of ripped open gift card packages?
@@seriejohnson698 most likely NO.. Actually I was being critical of what that police officer said. There are certain behaviors in a store that will instantly raise alarms
They all say "no value until scanned at the register." So I wondered if you could freely take gift cards that haven't been scanned, because if you get caught taking them, they have printed on them that they have no value, so you really can't be guilty of theft because the item was worthless.
@@rustyshackelford3371interesting perspective
Sounds like a store employee is responsible.
Keep the cards locked up behind the counter ,treat as activated credit/cash cards. There too accessible to thieves.
Where are the cameras in the store showing the scammers stealing the cards and putting them back?
This situation of doing it inside the store is literally impossible. It has to be at the factory of where they make the gift cards.
I'm so sick of thieves and scammers!
they need to start locking up cards like they do other stuff
This happened to me with a Home Depot gift card a few months ago. I got a refund from the store I bought it from and they were able to get the guy because he made online purchases with it.
When this happened to me a few years back with an Amazon gift card, the store refused to do anything for me and Amazon also refused even though they could tell where all of the products were ordered and shipped to which was a different state. 🤦♀️
The transactions where the cards are used should be traceable. They have to be entering the code online, so the purchases must be getting shipped somewhere.
I don't ever buy gift cards, unless they are behind a counter, for this reason. This sadly isn't new, but it never hurts to remind everyone during the holidays.
I applaud Target for stepping up. Their new gift cards have like a double sheet protection. This was rlly bad last Christmas.
For real, love target. 🙌
I got scammed from target!
Never got money from them!
Two-step authentication in order to use. Cards must be activated with the card number AND a corresponding number on the receipt. That'll cut out anyone who didn't buy the card.
This is a good heads up for the UK as well as stuff like that happens everywhere , looks like a risk for Amazon gift cards etc...
It happens with all gift cards not just Amazon gift cards. Amazon was just used as an example of what could happen with the cards
I've never had an issue with e-gift cards purchased directly from Amazon.
THIS HAPPENED TO MY DAUGHTER! She lost $50 😢 It’s sickening.
They need to lock up these gift cards
I was a victim to this and never got my money back. It was for my sister’s birthday present. I hate crooks so bad.
Why didn't you just give her cash?
Thats aweful, sorry to hear that happened.
So they sit at home and check the cards every day? They could get a remote job doing something legal
This happened to me once on a $100 gift card and I couldn't even receive a refund because I didnt keep the receipt😔😔😔 I only buy e gift cards now or none at all
I happened across someone doing this over a year ago. I saw their book of card numbers and I could tell they were working their way down the list checking to see if they were loaded yet.
This is why when I buy a gift card I take the whole stack and grab the very back ones because it's the first few that would be tempered
sounds like the stores need to step up security and stop selling damaged goods. Not on the customer at all, dont worry about losing money this way
DG registers detects this stuff, also different stores have a limit on how many a day they can sell certain amount of gift cards.
At Safeway. The register homeboy told me this story u just mentioned. So... As a precaution, always go to a trusted location to get your gift cards. And if need be. Ask them to open a fresh box. They usually come sealed and wrapped. So you know it's fresh. Thank you Safeway for giving me the heads up !
At Dollar general we had bad batches that never worked or was unable to activate while purchasing. So best bet of this scam happening is where we actually get the gift cards
Give cash, heck with gift cards. I’ve had money scammed before from gift cards. Never again.
_"Nothing makes people happier than a Christmas gift!"_
Cool, I'll keep giving nothing then! 😁
Gift cards should be abolished. Why cant people just give cash in a envelope?
Highly agree. I never understood why folks think this is a good idea. Ever. Give them money and some lottery tickets. That will put a smile on 99 percent of folks😂 Cheers happy holidays
Someone opened our envelope and took the cash that was sent. We only knew cos the relative asked if we received it OK?
@@J00Lsdon’t ever send cash through the mail dude
@@RyanDVA63 or gift cards!
Where have you been? They still it out of the envelope!
It's going to get to a point, if it hasn't already, that retail stores aren't going to offer gift cards any longer. From an outsider looking in, it looks like they're much more trouble than there ever worth.
We can only hope.
Scammers of india likes to have their victims buy giftcards
This is why I dont do gift cards and never have. Best bet is to give the person money in a nice card instead
Happened to me twice here in Canada! One $100 card and a $25 card. The $100 I got back bcs I kept the receipt(it was a gift for my Dad) And the $25 I didn’t get back because the person I gave it to didn’t want to cooperate. So I ended up giving her another$25 Cash…..Nothing is safe anymore nowadays unfortunately!😖😡
It’s happened to “at least” one person. Now they just showed criminals how to steal gift cards. 🤦🏻♀️
Omg I said the same thing! Now I know how to steal the cards. They literally gave us a walk through on how to do this scam.
So what's your solution? Never tell anyone about scams??
I work at Best Buy and sell lots of gift cards every shift. Always aware of scams going around
My mom got a $100 this past mother's day, she opened the card and went to use it a few days later and it had a $0 balance. We used the website on the back of the card and it had just been used in LA. We live about 350 north of LA.
Unfortunately gift cards now should be locked up behind the cash register just as other things that may be used in an inappropriate and illegal way should be. Even Home Depot locks up their spray paint now! Thank you to the Pinal police for pointing this out to the public. I was wondering how the scammers are able to access this money.
5 more years, everything will be locked up.
Honey, spray paint has been locked up since the 80's. Where've you been?
Ugh! I just bought a gift card yesterday. I will be checking it when I get home.
The time and energy thieves put into creating scams they could actually put into creating legitimate business. Be careful everyone.
0:44 “This is a scam that we’ve been seeing, and now we’re seeing it for the first time.” Whut????? 🤔😕🤷🏾♂️
The other thing they’re doing is creating their own barcode sticker and placing it on top of the existing barcode on the card, without cutting the top of the card off! This is much less obvious for customers to detect.
Fun fact, barcodes are designed for a store. if an item has a barcode that doesnt match for the store. It doesnt work at all.
Solution:
Give cash, hugs, or high 5's
The end.
Lock up ALL gift cards!!!
Gift cards are a scam in general. Better to gift cash.
THANKS FOR THE HEADS UP ABOUT THIS BECAUSE THAT CAN HAPPEN ANYWHERE.
scammers, crooks, criminals, monsters... are there any human beings left on this shthole planet
People sit up nights to come up with scams. Yet if they get robbed they have the nerve to be outraged.
The person would have to have a sick mind to even think that up. Ugh!
After everything why are the cards still accessible to shoppers. Why not keep them behind the counter and just have a display with whats available.
When I buy a gift card I immediately dial the toll free number on the back to get confirmation that the card was processed for the right amount. If not, turn around and go back into the store to get it fixed.
U missed the point. Calling and verifying is not what the video is about. It’s about scammers taking the cards home, cutting a section off and waiting for the money to b loaded. Then just use it online. U calling and the scammer is calling too lol
@@VVVV-ug1pz I know. Just wanted to throw out a helpful hint IMO.
This take a basic level of intelligence, motivation, sobriety and ability. Because of that they should get serious jail time.
lol, I thought they were talking about greeting cards at first.🤦♂️
This is why cash is still king!
Tell that to the people at the ATM who've been robbed.
Until you are relieved of it via civil asset forfeiture! Another huge scam except this one is legal.
Um, no. Cash is a losing form of currency. It's loosing value as we speak. Leverage is king.
@@Dahmer_JeffThat may be only cause big wigs want to scam the less smart. You how many get robbed on cash app/venmo/credit/debit cards etc. And the robber never points a gun. To me getting robbed by some foreigner miles away is worse than just getting stuck up on the spot.
@@userbutnotabuser24Just get cash back at the register while at the store, cash app and Zelle. Didn’t even know people still used ATMs…soon they will be on the list of remember when we got cash from here. It already made it to my list.
How do they redeem a partial card with a cashier? Gift cards where I live have a PIN code needed to redeem
How are the scammers able to walk out with a large number of gift card then bring them back to the store for customers to buy. It has to be an inside job. Someone that work at these stores might be helping.
That’s what I was thinking. But even the police aren’t questioning the logic?
@@kathrynpassmore5425 Maybe they are but just are not saying it out loud to the public because of the investigations. 🤔
Wouldn't the card looked like it was used?
@@lindaosika7648 People buy them without looking inside so they are clueless but hopefully everyone sees the videos of the warnings before they buy. I’m definitely not buying gift cards because of these scams.
Honestly, workers are often advised to not stop thieves. Actually, an actual security guard just got murdered over at a 7-11 for trying to do this...
The stores should check them at check out
Typical for SF.
I’m guessing it would be very easy to notice the packaging was messed with. Like those are heat pressed from large machines in a factory. How would you carefully open one then reseal like new?
I avoid buying physical gift cards now.
Why not just keep the gift cards behind the counter?..
How do you say this is a scam that we’re seeing and now we’re seeing it?
They also steam open the packaging and put a sticker of a barcode of a card they have. So when you purchase it, you’re loading money onto a different card. Clever.
"It's a scam that we've been seeing, but now we're seeing it for the first time."
How can it be called a scam when it’s only one person?
Would it be safe to go directly to a restaurant/coffee shop like Starbucks and purchase gift cards from the cashier?
They can watch the store shelf too, see if it sold
Thanks for reporting this, I have a bunch more to buy soon. Duly noted. 👍
Criminals: where creativity happens.
Thanks for explaining this scam it's probably not new but becoming more prevalent.
It’s been goin on for years! I had this happen twice…..
Holiday shopping? It's Christmas shopping.
News guy: That squared off 90's Arsenio Hall haircut is drawing more attention to your forehead and hairline. Round it off and trim it down and stop fighting the inevitable!
This has been going on for years, especially here in New York, these cards should be put in glass cabinet, or behind the registers.
Sick stuff
The creepy sound of the Tesla at the end. Smh
They also use stickers for the existing barcode I heard.
Thanks for teaching us how to do it.
Thank you for this information
What if the consumer wont let us open them?
That happened with me at Walmart. The cashier looked and saw it missing. She told me to go back and get another one. That one was missing too.
I guess the deal is to pull from the back.
We check for that here, when it comes through the cash. They train how to spot fake guft cards here.
How do the criminals know when their gift card is activated?
That seems like too much extra work for a lazy thief.
I just bought 2 gifts cards for my kids and when we opened them the security code was scratched off and the card number was missing 4 digits of the whole number 😡🤬🤬
"This is a scam that we've been seeing, and now we're seeing it for the first time." What?
I heard about this last night. He said his employer made them remove Gift Cards because of this. He didn't have the details about cutting the card strip
I might guess that they don’t actually need to cut the card but just take a decent shot of the bar code.
"Oh, this is a scam that we've been seeing, and now we're seeing it for the first time.." Hello, does that make sense to anyone, or does it foster bewilderment..?
It's a scam they've heard of but this was the first time they saw it first-hand. I'm assuming that's what they meant.
Thanks for telling us how this scam is being done, now more scammers can do the same thing!! Sigh
If people check the cards before loading them, the scammers won’t get any money and this scamming practice will die out.
@@therelaytimes so telling people what to do to keep from getting scammed is going to get more people scammed? I guess we should stop telling people that there is no Nigerian Price who wants to send them money. (There is actually an easier way for scammers to do this that I'm not going to mention because it's harder to detect)
@@therelaytimes please educate me then. What am I missing?
@@therelaytimes but if everyone knows about this particular on it will render it unprofitable for the scammers and they will stop using it and, as you state, will unfortunately move to something else.
Depending on the store, they need the magnetic strip, along with the barcode, or else it won't work.
Why the narrator keep cutting off the officer while he’s trying to explain just to describe what he’s explaining? 👀💀 She driving up the wall! 😂
I bet this is inside job. All these bank scam etc is from inside but they trying to act like it’s just outside customers.