Gift cards represent an alternative currency format.
The festive season brings joy, but regrettably, it also lures in opportunistic criminals who enjoy the hustle and excitement to carry out their scams. This year, they've introduced a new element to their tactics: artificial intelligence (AI). This underscores the need for consumers to remain vigilant in the realm of AI-driven cons and other holiday deceptions to ensure their safety and a celebration free from these scams.
There is a significant increase in gift card scams during this holiday season. Exploiting the heightened online shopping and gift-giving activities, scammers are strategically targeting unsuspecting individuals.
Online frauds these days employ advanced techniques such as AI-powered deepfakes to replicate voices, create deceptive phishing websites, and even infiltrate legitimate platforms to showcase fraudulent deals and reviews.
Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram serve as avenues for spreading deceptive giveaways and contests, often crafted to either steal personal information or direct consumers to malicious websites.
At the forefront of these scams is gift card draining, a scheme where scammers pilfer gift card numbers before activation and syphon off the funds. This can occur through the use of skimming devices at retail outlets or by infiltrating the databases of online retailers.
According to the Better Business Bureau, there has been a notable surge in reports of gift card fraud this year, showing a 50% increase compared to the previous year. Online shoppers appear to be the most heavily impacted by this trend.
According to a study by Aura.com, 73 million Americans have fallen prey to savage gift card scammers since 2022. This figure represents roughly 22% of the US population aged 18 and older, highlighting the widespread nature of the problem. The study estimates that Americans have lost $55.8 billion to gift card scams since 2022, averaging close to $765 per victim.
Here is what to do to protect yourself from these online scams:
- Get gift cards straight from the store website or from legit shops, not random sellers online.
- Check the card for rips, scratches, or weird barcodes before handing it over.
- Keep the PIN secret, just like your credit card number.
- Think about registering the card with the store so nobody else can use it if you lose it.