Sen. Chuck Schumer urged stores and shoppers to protect themselves from fraudsters who are draining gift cards' balance once they're activated.
"The system all too many stores use now is a free buffet for scammers and crooks that can leave unsuspecting victims with a valueless piece of plastic by Christmas Day," Schumer said Sunday.
Gift card fraudsters go to retail and drug stores - where gift cards are on the shelves - and record gift card access code concealed by cardboard or a scratch off film.
They track it online and, once it's activated, deplete it before the consumer uses it.
"Can you imagine, getting a nice gift card, $50 from Macy's, and you go to use it and it's been used up already by some scammer?" Schumer asked.
"That's exactly what were trying to stop today."
In a letter to the National Retail Federation and the Retail Gift Card Association, Schumer asked for gift cards to have better protective packaging, for stores to sell gift cards from behind the counter and inform shoppers of the gift card theft threat before purchasing.
Schumer said he'd also like retailers to refund shoppers gift cards that have been pilfered.
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