The holiday season usually provides an opportunity to get some good deals, but it's also an active time for scammers. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Jordan Davidson

scam warning

Gift card scams latest holiday threat for gift-givers

Dec 15, 2022 | 3:58 PM

NANAIMO — Christmas time is the busiest time of year for a lot of people, and scammers are no different.

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is warning people about the rise in gift card scams, and what consumers can do to protect themselves from falling victim to fraud.

President of the BBB serving Mainland B.C. Simone Lis said scammers place their own bar code stickers over the actual label and steal all of the credit.

“What happens is when you go and buy a gift card, you scan the gift card to activate it not realizing that the bar code is actually linked to another gift card and you’re loading up someone else’s gift card.”

She said the busy holiday season can have customers in a rush, which can mean they aren’t paying as close attention as they might normally do.

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Lis added it’s important to take a quick moment to ensure the gift card hasn’t been tampered with in any way before purchasing it.

“Whenever you can it’s always best to buy directly from the store you want to deal with. Gift cards, in a sense, are like cash, and so you can protect them.”

Registering the gift card right away is a good way to provide additional protection, along with changing the access code, if you’re able to.

“Also to buy directly from a place where the merchant has taken some precautions to protect those gift cards. Doing things like keeping it in a place that it’s visible for the merchant, maybe right behind the cash register.”

If it appears that your gift card has been tampered with, talk to the merchant, or go to BBB.org for more information on the next steps you can take.

Customers can report scams to their Scam Tracker page and to the Canadian Anti-fraud Centre, which actively works to shut them down.

–with files from Jon de Roo, 97.3 FM The Eagle.

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