$372 drained from Calgary woman's gift card. She's warning others to be cautious
Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre says it happens when criminals swap card codes
As the holidays approach, one Calgary woman is warning others about gift card fraud.
Calgarian Kelli Borger received a prepaid gift card loaded with $450 from her coworkers as a gift when she retired. But soon after, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, and the card went untouched for months.
But as she started to recover, Borger said, she decided to use the card to treat herself to a shopping trip.
"I went to the mall and presented my gift card with a flourish — and the sales associate opened it up for me and scratched off the protective code that you're not supposed to be able to use unless you can see that code," she said.
"And he ran it through his machine. And much to both of our surprises, the amount on the gift card was not $450, it was $78."
Borger reached out to the gift card company, which told her the missing funds had been spent in Richmond, B.C.
After an official claim, reports to the media and much back and forth, the company said it would refund Borger, but she wants others to know about this type of fraud.
"We are going into the Christmas season and so many people consider these viable, great options to give people for gifts. We all work hard for our money, and we put a lot of thought and time into what we want to give people," she said.
Jeff Horncastle, the acting client and communications officer for the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, said gift card fraud, like other forms of fraud, is underreported.
He said this type of theft can happen when criminals swap the codes on the back of a card.
"When the victim goes and activates the card, it's activating the stolen card that the suspect has at the residence," he said on The Homestretch.
When buying a gift card, he said, check the activation receipt and pass your finger over the back of the card to make sure there isn't a secondary barcode placed on it.
He said people should be especially cautious about fraud and scams during the holidays.
Most commonly, they see counterfeit merchandise, fake goods and services sold online, crypto investments and romance scams.