Chances are you're buying at least one gift card this time of year.
But you need to be especially vigilant this holiday season, because scammers are increasingly using gift cards as a way to steal your money.
Beverly Hacker says someone hacked her Apple gift card that she purchased. She says the $50 card was empty.
"When we got home, one had been tampered with," she said, showing a card that she claims had been opened and resealed.
When she called the grocery store where she bought it, she says, "they said they are not responsible for any issues with the cards."
It's happening more and more.
The Better Business Bureau's Josh Planos says the first thing you want to look for when buying a gift card is signs of tampering.
"A very easy tactic that scammers have deployed." he said, "is going into the local grocery store, and steal all the information off the card because they don't need the actual card anymore."
Planos says scammers often copy the card number and PIN, then carefully place the card back in the rack, often behind other cards.
Once activated, they can make purchases online before you've had the chance to gift it.
John Matarese
