State Consumer Protection Agency Warns Shoppers About Gift Card Scams

Wisconsin’s Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection is sending a warning to holiday shoppers: be wary of “free” or “discounted” gift cards.

The average holiday consumer will spend $172 on gift cards — something Sandy Chalmers says scammers are well aware of. Chalmers, DATCP’s administrator of Trade and Consumer Protection, said scammers often take to social media ostensibly offering free or discounted cards, but only if the target fills out a survey that asks for a lot of personal information.

That information then gets stolen, no card ever materializes, and malware can be unleashed on the target’s computer.

“That software will track your keystrokes when you’re online, which allows a criminal anywhere in the world to capture passwords and credit card information,” said Chalmers.

Chalmers said it’s best not to click on unsolicited surveys or on emails that say they’re from a shipper like UPS, Inc. or the U.S. Postal Service, which can leave a computer vulnerable to malware.

Chalmers said one of the biggest gift-card related complaints her department gets is from people who bought a card from a company that went out of business. She advises either giving cash as a gift, or buying a card from an established business.