Gift Cards

Snopes Grift Card entry explains how crooks steal gift cards, often sticking the consumer with a worthless piece of plastic. The site talks of many ways that consumers are cheated by scammers - for example, thieves troll stores where gift cards are sold on aisles and they make note of the card number.
They then call the retailer to check on the account balance, which allows them to see if a card has been bought and activated and then they shop for products online.


I want to point out another problem with gift cards. This has happened to two people I know who were given gift cards but when they went to redeem them, they were told they were not worth full value. Apparently there is a short time period in which they must be used or the value is depreciated. Last year, my sister received a $50 gift certificate from a pupil's parent (bucking for an "A" no doubt) and when she went to use it several months later, she was told it was only worth $30. Just this week, my friend who was given a gift card by her employer was also told the card was not worth full value also - and she just received it. When she called the number on the back, she was told that the call (to someone in India) would depreciate the card value by an additional $1.

So my advice is - give cash. The gift cards are bullshit from every angle.