Prepaid gift cards are a popular holiday present.
They are easy to find, can be loaded with a value of your choosing, and allow recipients to make their own purchases.
But gift cards can also be a versatile tool for defrauding consumers. Protect your money and identity by knowing how gift card scams work and remembering the following fraud prevention tips from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP).
When buying gift cards for friends and family, you may find them sold in bulk or at discounted prices online.
Be cautious of these deals, as in some cases, after consumers buy them, they discover the cards have expired or are already drained of funds.
Other buyers never received them at all.
For more information and consumer protection resources or to file a complaint, visit DATCP’s Consumer Protection webpage at ConsumerProtection.wi.gov.
