Feds Warn North Dakota Shoppers Of New Gift Card Scam

A new and evil gift card scam has already swindled thousands of dollars from victims who are planning to purchase gift cards for people on their Christmas shopping list.

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The FBI has previously issued a number of warnings regarding con artists attempting to trick you into sending money to them using gift cards, but now there's another one that's even more evil and difficult to avoid. Due to a scam that originated in Pennsylvania, gift buyers in North Dakota should take note of this new caution. Over a hundred consumers discovered that the gift cards they had bought were unexpectedly empty, according to Philadelphia's Fox29.

This is how the plot unfolded. According to the report, the card information of "over 100 Visa Vanilla and Apple gift cards" was compromised. The con artists stealthily take the cards out of the racks, get the PIN number, and replace them. The buyer's money was transferred straight into the bank account of the scammer when the gift card was scanned and activated at the register.

However, there's a new method scammers are using to defraud purchasers of gift cards in Illinois and Missouri. According to the FBI, fictitious bar codes are placed on the back of cards in numerous other cases. The money from your bank account will be transferred to the thief's account when it is scanned at the register.

These are just the two most recent gift card scams; the Federal Trade Commission has listed numerous others as well, such as con artists pretending to be government representatives and requesting payment with particular gift cards.