Gift cards are a convenient way to shop, but scammers steal the gift cards from the displays in stores and copy down or scan the information from the card.  Once they have done this, they return the card to the display.  Then the wait a little while and go to the company’s website to see if the card has been activated and if it has, they use the information they already have to drain your gift card.

TIP

Don’t buy gift cards from displays.  Always get one from behind the counter.