We can share that we have protocols in place to investigate cardholder queries, and we review cases with our partners to reduce the potential for future occurrences. We do not comment on individual cases to respect the privacy of our customers, and we do not disclose the tactics that fraudsters use in order to help prevent copycat behavior. They sent us a statement saying: InComm Payments takes fraud very seriously and continues to invest significantly in solutions to protect cardholders. With this gift card fraud running rampant, we also asked InComm what it's doing to prevent these thefts. "I'd say a 40 to 50% chance they've been emptied," said Behar. "The issue becomes the site doing the verification, the one telling you, 'yes you have $100 on this card,' might notice or may go down if you send too many checks over a small amount of time."Īs for the cards on the rack at your local store, Behar has very little confidence in them. "It could check hundreds or thousands in a minute," said Behar.
#Holiday gift card balance online code
"They actually have automated code they get in underground hacking forms," said Behar.Īnd that code can search for activated gift cards, as long as it doesn't trigger any safety systems at the company. He said he doesn't know of any recent breaches, but it's possible someone could grab the code to your gift card without ever touching the card itself. "Somebody could get into the organization that's holding those funds," said Niko Behar, a cybersecurity professor at the University of San Diego.īehar is also a white hat hacker, who helps companies strengthen their systems. They didn't want to go into details to prevent copycats, but we found an expert who gave us a bit more insight. We asked InComm, the company that issues these cards, about what's going on. Then they replace those scratch off stickers with ones easily bought online and wait, checking to see if that card has been activated.īuzo said his packaging was completely intact, so he doesn't think that's what happened to him. The most common way thieves steal a gift card balance is by scratching off the sticker to reveal the codes on the back. Most of these complaints have to do with the Visa and American Express gift cards you can buy off almost any gift card rack. Those range from Los Angeles and the Bay Area, to New York, Miami, even Dallas. Since January, there have been more than 60 reports. NBC 7 Responds dug through thousands of complaints sent into our NBC and Telemundo responds teams across the nation to see where this was happening. "I can't imagine how many other people have experienced the exact same thing," said Buzo. Parents of Woman Who Died With Toddler in Petco Park Fall Sues City, Padres
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