A WOMAN has been scammed after purchasing a gift card that had unknowingly been tampered with by fraudsters.
They went back to the store they purchased their gift card from to find another 30 damaged cards.
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Bridget Campbell, of Hillsboro, Oregon — about 20 miles west of Portland — said she went into a Fred Meyer grocery store to buy Amazon gift cards for her husband’s birthday.
When she returned home, she realized that the redemption code was damaged, and likely recorded, so a purchaser couldn’t use the card and her $300 was stolen.
“Nothing had been ripped. It looked fine. I always try to check like, ‘Oh, does it look okay?’ I actually specifically got the one behind the front one,” Campbell told ABC affiliate KATU.
The intuitive shopper believes that scammers open the card, steal the code, and then seal it back up so no one is the wiser.
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“They’re opening it in a way where it does not look tampered at all. It is still flat. It still looks like it came from the factory,” she said.
Campbell was able to get her money back after returning to Fred Meyer and calling Amazon twice, but the couple returned to the store to document more attempts at swindling customers.
They found another 30 damaged cards which they posted on Facebook to warn customers and reported to the store.
She hopes her warning helps others who purchase gift cards as presents and they aren’t opened right away.
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“A lot of folks will just get the gift cards and hold onto them. No, open them up. Get the gift card, open it up before you even buy it,” she said.
The Fred Meyer location said it used multiple security methods to protect its customers, but fraud was “rare”.
“We employ multiple strategies to protect our customers – from gift card fixture signage to digital resources with guidance to avoid fraud and common scams, report fraud, and answer frequently asked questions. In addition, Fred Meyer associates are trained in fraud prevention,” the grocer said, in part, in a statement to the outlet.
Though Campbell was shocked that it happened to her, she was grateful to get her hundreds of dollars back after the scam.
“I felt a little violated that it happened to me, but I’m glad that I am tenacious, and I don’t give up, and I was able to get my money in the end,” she said.
SHOCK SCHEME
Many people have reported gift card scams all over the country.
What to look out for when buying gift cards
When buying a gift card, be sure to check the back of the packaging. If it is ripped or damaged in any way, it could have been opened by a fraudster.
If you buy a gift card and the redemption code on the back is damaged and unusable, call the store where you purchased the card and contact the gift card company immediately.
Be sure to also keep the gift card receipt.
A mother from Arizona also fell victim after purchasing a $500 gift card for her daughter.
“The week after Christmas, she goes to utilize said gift card for her tires and unfortunately the card had already been registered to someone else,” Lindsay Dowling explained to CBS affiliate KTVK.
Scammers had copied the magnetic strip on the back of the card, so when her daughter went to use it there was no money on it.
However, when she returned to Fry’s, where she bought the card, they were not as eager to give her a refund as Fred Meyer was for Campbell.
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“They said there’s nothing they can do. They said it’s a Visa problem, so I have to talk to Visa. Visa says it’s not their problem. I have to talk to the card issuer. The card issue says it’s a Kroger problem, so at this point, it’s just an ongoing circle with no real resolution,” she said.
“Nobody wants to take responsibility.”
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https://www.the-sun.com/news/11322701/woman-lost-300-gift-cards-scam-fraudsters/