TAMPA, Fla. — Did you get a gift card for a store you'd never shop at or a restaurant you hate? Well, we can help you trade for one that you want or just get some cold hard cash.
The National Retail Federation predicts that $27 billion worth of gift cards were bought this holiday season...and thieves are trying to get some of that money.
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody released a warning, saying scams peak after the holiday season. The AG's office warns of a common scam when shoppers try and sell their gift cards online. A scammer, posing as a buyer, will ask to place a three-way phone call with the retailer to confirm the balance. When the shopper is entering their gift card information, the scammer will record the numbers and then drain the balance on the card.
If you're turning to a website to sell or exchange your gift card, only use reputable, accredited sites. We found somewhere you can either exchange your card for cash or trade for other gift cards.
If you plan on keeping your card to spend, use it as soon as possible, spend the entire balance and try to register your card online with a digital retailer account to protect your balance.
What other people are reading right now:
- Restaurant Red Alert: The most shocking reports of 2019
- Father watched his 12-year-old daugher get hit and killed in a crosswalk
- Looking ahead to our last cold front of the year
- Thieves are watching: Don't put empty gift boxes on the side of the road
- Cashier shoots, kills armed robber after he was pistol-whipped
- ‘If I could just save one life’: Woman uses signs to help others get through the holidays
