INDIAN ROCKS BEACH, Fla. — An Indian Rocks woman is sharing how she got scammed out of $270 dollars.
Patricia Shields purchased a Walmart Visa gift card in early July. She says after checking out, she drove her normal 10-15 minutes-drive home.
When she arrived home to register the card and check the balance, it came back as $0.00.
How could this be?
According to the Better Business Bureau, scammers will copy gift card information, including the pin. Then, when an unsuspecting customer purchases and activates the card, it's immediately drained of all funds.
The transactions on the card showed as three separate transactions, all to 'PENNYUS.SHOP.'
For Shields, that $270 makes the difference in paying necessary bills.
"It means a lot to me," she said, "It was paying my bill by car insurance and on a fixed income."
Shields said she called both Walmart and Visa, hoping to get her dollars back, but has yet to have any luck.
"I've got different answers over and over again," she said.
According to the BBB, it's often very difficult to get your money back in scams like this. Shields disputed the charges with Visa, but they denied her dispute.
"They sent me it and they declined my refund saying that I authorized it," Shields said.
Before purchasing a gift card online, BBB recommends the following tips:
- Know who you are buying from. Little-known websites advertise gift cards for popular retailers at steep discounts. These websites might be using these offers to steal payment card numbers or other personal information. Instead, go directly to the merchant and purchase a card from them.
- Buying a physical gift card? Take a closer look. No matter where gift cards are displayed in the store, thieves are known to remove gift cards from the display rack and record the numbers associated with that card, including the activation PIN. Before purchasing a gift card, look carefully at the packaging for any tears, wrinkles, or other indications of tampering, and see if the PIN is exposed.
- Research how to use the card. Not all retailers have the same policies when issuing a gift card. Double check the terms and conditions on the type of gift card purchased. The Federal Trade Commission has information about retail gift cards and bank gift cards. In Canada, find more information on the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada website.
- Be wary of websites that offer to check your gift card's balance. According to BBB.org/ScamTracker reports, some websites that claim to check your gift card balance are really a way to steal money off your card. These sites ask for your card’s ID number and PIN or security code. Then, scammers use the information to drain the money off your card.
- Register your gift card. If the retailer allows the option to register the gift card, take full advantage. This makes it easier to protect the balance, that way you can report it sooner and potentially end up saving the money that is stored on the card. Change the PIN on the card, and don’t delay in using the money. The longer a card sits around, the more likely a cybercriminal is to steal the balance.
- Treat it like cash. If the card is lost or stolen, report it to the issuer immediately. Most issuers have toll-free telephone numbers to report a lost or stolen card – find it on the card or online.