{"id":11822,"date":"2025-09-15T16:05:16","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T15:05:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/expertcomment\/?p=11822"},"modified":"2025-09-15T16:14:56","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T15:14:56","slug":"how-to-stay-safe-from-gift-card-fraud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/expertcomment\/how-to-stay-safe-from-gift-card-fraud\/","title":{"rendered":"How to stay safe from gift card fraud"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Why are scams rising?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Gift cards are sold like products but used like money, and unlike cash in a wallet or funds in a bank, they lack strong protections. The growth of digital shopping, self-service checkouts, and emailed codes means fewer staff safeguards and more systems for criminals to exploit.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Why criminals love gift cards<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>They\u2019re low risk, high reward. Unlike bank cards, gift cards are almost impossible to trace and typically have weak fraud protections.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How scams work<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>In stores<\/strong>: criminals scratch off PINs, swap barcodes, or reseal packaging so buyers unknowingly fund their cards.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Online: <\/strong>bots attack balance-check portals, cycling through card\/PIN combinations until they find valid ones.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Practical steps for consumers<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Buy safely: only from official stores or websites, ideally behind the counter.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Inspect and act quickly: check packaging, use cards soon after purchase, and keep receipts.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Spot scams: if someone asks you to pay a debt, fee, or fine with a gift card, it\u2019s always a scam.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Stay alert: never share gift card details by phone, email, or text.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What retailers should do<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Staff training<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Teach cashiers to spot tampered cards or suspicious bulk purchases.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Tamper-proof packaging<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Make it obvious if a card has been opened or altered.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Stronger tech protections&nbsp;<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Add CAPTCHAs and rate limits on balance-check systems so bots can\u2019t guess numbers.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Consumer protection policies<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Be more willing to refund or replace cards when fraud is clearly proven.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Require registration<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Cards should only become spendable after being registered with a unique receipt code. That way, just knowing the card number and PIN won\u2019t be enough for criminals.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The role of government and regulators<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Set security standards<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Just like PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) rules for bank cards, introduce minimum protections for gift cards (e.g., tamper-proof packaging, stronger PINs, secure balance-check portals).&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Mandate consumer rights<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Require retailers to refund or replace balances where fraud is proven, instead of leaving consumers with no protection.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Oversight and enforcement&nbsp;<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Regulators like the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority, in the UK) could audit retailers\u2019 systems and penalise those who don\u2019t secure their gift card platforms.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Public awareness campaigns<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Run national campaigns (like those for phishing or online fraud) to warn consumers that gift cards are a top target for scammers.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Data sharing<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Encourage retailers, banks, and law enforcement to share intelligence on gift card fraud patterns, so scams can be spotted and stopped faster.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Right now, gift cards fall through the cracks: sold like products, but used like money. The government could change that by setting standards and making sure consumers get the same protection as they do with bank cards.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dr Hannan Azhar is Senior Lecturer in Computing, AI and Cyber Security in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.canterbury.ac.uk\/about-us\/our-schools\/school-of-sciences-psychology-arts-humanities-computing-engineering-sports\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">School of Sciences, Psychology, Arts and Humanities, Computing, Engineering and Sports.<\/a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With a recent rise in gift card fraud, Dr Hannan Azhar, Senior Lecturer in Computing, AI and Cyber Security, outlines practical ways consumers can stay safe from scammers.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":151654,"featured_media":11826,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[85,1357],"tags":[6370,6374,6358,6366,6362,6354,6350,6386,6382,1414,6390,6378],"class_list":["post-11822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cybersecurity","category-society","tag-activity","tag-bank-cards","tag-cash","tag-criminals","tag-email","tag-fraud","tag-gift-card","tag-package","tag-pins","tag-protection","tag-scammers","tag-trace"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"authorName":"Emma Grafton-Williams","featuredImage":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/expertcomment\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/437\/2025\/09\/Gift-cards-Shutterstock-image.jpg","postExcerpt":"With a recent rise in gift card fraud, Dr Hannan Azhar, Senior Lecturer in Computing, AI and Cyber Security, outlines practical ways consumers can stay safe from scammers.  ","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/expertcomment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11822","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/expertcomment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/expertcomment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/expertcomment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/151654"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/expertcomment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11822"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/expertcomment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11822\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11858,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/expertcomment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11822\/revisions\/11858"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/expertcomment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/expertcomment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/expertcomment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11822"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/expertcomment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}