Gift Card Scam Email Warning is Exaggerated

It never fails. Some well-intentioned person decides to forward an email about some scam, real or otherwise to my inbox. In the case of the " Fw: Gift Card Scam/very important" the original offender even included a link to an article on Snopes.com

Snopes.com, for anyone who has not been to the web site, is a site that investigates rumors, stories of fraud and other urban legends that make their way around the Internet, and clog up people'sin boxes.

Well, the originator of this particular "Fw: Gift Card Scam/very important" email alert included a link to the Snopes.com article but never actually read it.

Snopes.com has determined that while yes, some thieves may be recording information on gift card, calling for a balance, and spending the remainder on the card, "Some retail and law enforcement groups have suggested that although the type of gift fraud described has been known to occur, it's relatively rare, and fears of gift card theft are greatly exaggerated." (Snopes.com)

Why This is all Bull

There are a number of reasons that this story is exaggerated, and there are reasons why it is ridiculous.

1. The people passing this information on are people who are slightly tecchnophobic. They believe in good old-fashioned cash, snail mail, and are still unsure about the Internet. These same people believe that they should forward every email that comes to their inbox and tells them to forward it on.

2. Who are these savvy thieves who can read all of the numbers on a gift card over your shoulder. Are they memorizing the number? Do they stand behind you with a pen and paper? Do they type the numbers into the notepad on their cell phones?

3. It can't be the cashiers. No offense to those working in retail, because I have been there, but it's nearly impossible to find someone who knows how to swipe a partially-used gift card without it being declined.

Avoiding Gift Card Fraud