Technology Advisor Blog

Coordinating a Wishlist for the holidays with your friends, family and loved ones can be challenging. Especially when no two people are the same. In a lot of cases, whether you utilize your time management right during the season or not, (it’s completely understandable if you don’t, it’s a stressful time in the work-life balance realm), sometimes the best gift, when you don’t know what to get, is a gift card.

You go to a convenience store like CVS or Market Basket where there is a whole wall for various products and services like restaurants, video games, online shops, grocery store, Visa gift cards, and so much more. When you go to checkout and add the desired amount, a confirmation screen pops up to verify the transaction. Within the transactions, there is a security check section where a CAPTCHA may appear to verify your identity in the case scenario of fraudulent activity. For many, it’s just another screen to click through to proceed with the transaction. Then for others, it can very much be the crossroad to falling for a gift card scam or even purchasing a tampered gift card with insufficient funds.

Gift Card Scams- How to Identify

Within your own work and personal email accounts, there are lots of phishing messages claiming you won a gift card for an all-expense paid trip or an expensive product or service. Of course, those are easy to identify as those usually must be initiated to win something, or they’re just too good to be true. However, there are other socially engineered attempts from hackers where you receive an email that appears to be from your boss, requesting you purchase several gift cards and send over the codes. In those cases, those are the most dangerous. If you’re not careful double checking the email recipient for any misspellings in email, text, or confirming with them in person, you will be a scammer’s next victim.

Tell Tale Gift Card Fraudulent Signs

• Unsolicited and urgent demands for payment, often by request of a gift card. Scammers can impersonate local authorities, your friends and loved ones into tricking you to following these demands.
• Threatening and demanding language to hinder rational logic to make an impulsive in the moment decision.
• Oddly specific instructions. In the case of an individual receiving a phishing email that looked identical to their bosses, they told this person exactly which store to go into, cards to buy, and in some cases the scammer has you on the phone with them for extra instructions.
• Requesting the card number’s pins. Anyone that is asking you to buy gift cards then requests the pin on the back is attempting to steal money YOU loaded onto it.
  
  

As much as it can appear to be common sense to not buy gift cards for a random stranger, it’s always an essential reminder when the holiday season is present. Scammers will go above and beyond to trick unsuspecting victims and it’s our responsibility at Ekaru to ensure you know the signs no matter how old or recent the strategies they use.

Here are a few things to consider:

• A legitimate company or organization would never ask you to buy gift cards as a form of payment.
  In the case of feeling isolated and rushed to make a decision with the scammer on the phone, remember to take a moment to stop and think, ‘do they really need these gift cards? This doesn’t seem right.”
• Sometimes, scammers don’t need the Pin, they will tamper with gift cards that are currently on display in local stores. Biggest takeaway will be scratches and temperament with the barcode on the back.

If you happen to fall victim to a gift card scam or even have a bad gut feeling, show it to the store manager or cashier, then omit purchasing said gift card. Report the fraudulent attempt to local authorities.

Supermarket Gift Card Walls-Trail with Caution

How They Tamper:

• Tampering with the protective packaging for the cards. It’s always essential to check the state of the gift card you choose before going up to the register to purchase.
• Recording the card number and PIN.
• Sometimes there are fake barcodes to cover up the evidence
• With fake barcodes they’re able to monitor once the card is activated, stealing your funds you placed within the card. They use the card with the funds you placed on there before you can even use it somewhere.
  
  
  

You may be asking, why do scammers enjoy the gift card route to steal an individual’s funds? The reason: its easy cash and gift cards aren’t protected under the Electronic Funds Transfer Act the way your debit or credit card may be under. If you also don’t have your gift card receipt either, it’s harder to confirm that you yourself are victim of a fraudulent insufficient gift card.

Ways to Combat:

• Scammers usually will attack the first cards that are present on the gift card rack. It’s recommended to go farther back to grab a card as it won’t be suspected of tampering.
• Make sure if you are going to grab gift cards, if they’re within eye view of the cashier, they’re deemed safer than ones that are out of sight as scammers can quickly tamper cards.
• Physically check the card for tampering. If there are any visible wrinkles, tears, or the sticker where the number/PIN looks off, it is better to confirm with the cashier than proceed.
• Always keep the receipt - especially if you do not have a good gut feeling over the car’s funds/abilities.
• If the card is deemed safe, use the card right away instead of having it collect dust at the bottom of your purse.  
• If you feel you have been victim of an insufficiently funded gift card, report to the retailer immediately for fraud.

There's a few stores that are more prone to having these fraudulent transactions happen are:

• Target
• Google Play
• Apple
• eBay
• Walmart

The following numbers below are provided if you or someone you know has been affected by scammed gift cards:
For Target, call its Gift Card Services number at 1-800-544-2943 and follow the instructions.

• For Amazon, call 1-888-280-4331.
• For iTunes, call Apple Support at 1-800-275-2273. Say “gift card” to connect with a live representative.
• For Google Play, report the gift card fraud to Google in this online form.
• For eBay, chat with an assistant.
• For Walgreens, call 1-877-865-9130. “Be prepared to provide a copy of your purchase receipt and images of the front and back of the card(s),” its website states.
• For Walmart, call the Gift Card Customer Service Hotline at 1-888-537-5503.

Source: https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/why-avoid-buying-gift-card-080024659.html

Gift card scams target people’s urgency and trust, its important to be on top of all trends when it comes to holiday scams so the only stress you have to deal with is the countdown to December 25^th.

For these attempts, scammers impersonate higher ups within the company to target your trust in your boss that they need something essential that is ‘fast’ and or ‘untraceable’. Again, legitimate companies or bosses would never request you personally for gift cards and the PIN numbers.

At Ekaru, there are plenty of ways we can assist you in ensuring you know the signs and know how to act accordingly if this situation ever arises during the holidays and with phishing attempts.

• Email protection and authentication are essential for filtering out phishing emails in your inbox. DMARC, DKIM and SPF will help reduce spoofing and improve inbox filtering.
• Education is key. Cybersecurity awareness training goes over a variety of scam attempts that have accumulated within the last several decades, so you know the signs to protect yourself and loved ones.
• Early scam detection through monitoring of unusual sign-ins, changes to payment vendor details and any unauthorize updating rules that were not in your previous policies for protection.

Gift card scams succeed because they feel urgent and personal. The best defense is second guessing the scammer trying to isolate you into a decision, double verification, monitoring for any unusual activity before and after purchasing gift card, and staying on top of all current and past cybersecurity trends. Our team will help you reduce the risk and impact of gift card scams swiftly and without fear.

Interested in learning how we can help your team stay on top of cybersecurity trends, while also providing essential IT services? Let’s connect! Give us a call to schedule a 15-minute appointment with us at 978-692-4200 or visit our website at www.Ekaru.com.

You deserve a festive holiday with friends and family.