Secret Credit Card Recording & Gift Card Windfall
As I mentioned on May 10th, in celebration of the newly redesigned giftcardblogger.com, I will be running a four part series on Gift Card Fraud and Scams.
I will be discussing the major types of gift card scams out there and provide you with tips on how to avoid becoming a victim. Today’s post will focus on credit card skimming and how that is used to perpetrate gift card fraud.
A recent arrest of two men in Herkimer, NY has led police into what could be one of the most sophisticated gift card and credit card schemes out there. According to a story on uticoad.com, police seized about 100 debit and gift cards from the two men, which were apparently used to defraud local Wal-Mart stores.
The case began to unfold as one of the men tried to buy $800 in Wal-Mart gift cards using multiple credit cards that were each denied. Police found that during the two day period, the suspects had purchased $39,000 worth of Wal-Mart gift cards and electronic equipment in Herkimer and Rome, NY. At the Rome, NY Wal-Mart alone, the two men made about $8,000 in purchases in one hour. So how does the scheme work? Read the rest of this entry »
Is there a difference between the Visa Reloadable Prepaid Card and Visa Gift Card? This question was posed on Yahoo Answers recently and since I have seen the question asked a couple of times already, I did some research on the subject and here is what I found.
While both cards are accepted anywhere visa debit cards are accepted, there are differences between the two cards that should be considered before buying.
- The Visa Gift Card is not “reloadable”. Once the initial value on a Visa Gift Card is spent, the plastic becomes worthless. On the other hand, the Visa Reloadable Prepaid card can be reloaded with cash several times over until the expiration date listed on the card.
- The Visa Gift Card can be purchased at many grocery stores or supermarkets without any precondition, such as age requirement or proof of ID. However, to purchase Visa Reloadable Prepaid Card, you must be at least 18 years of age and must provide a government issued ID.
- You can use a Visa Reloadable Prepaid Card to get cash at an ATM while the Visa Gift Card does not allow you to get cash at the ATM.
- The Visa Reloadable Prepaid Card also allows you to add money to the card through direct deposit of your wages, tax refunds, or other disbursements, such as social security, child support, welfare or other payments. This feature does not exist with the Visa Gift Card. Read the rest of this entry »
Welcome to the new and improved Giftcardblogger.com! As I mentioned previously, the redesign of the site was to make it more user friendly and provide easy access to the wide range of content on the site. For your benefit, below are the improvements to the site:
1. I have added the tabs at the top, which are “Featured” (which is a list of posts I am recommending to readers), “Commented” (which lists the posts that have attracted the most comments), and “Emailed” (which lists the most emailed posts).
2. The “Popular post” section on the right sidebar has been enhanced to include “All Time” popular posts (which lists the most popular posts on giftcardblogger.com since its inception), and “This Month” (which lists the popular posts for any given month in time). Read the rest of this entry »
Below are stores that carry the Visa Reloadable Prepaid Card. As you can see, it is a much shorter list than the stores that sell the Visa Gift Card.
Walmart
ACE Cash Express
CVS
Walgreens
Safeway
Rite Aid
Source: Visa.com
American Express (Amex) gift cards can be purchased in-person at the following drug stores and supermarkets (grocery stores).
Drug Stores
Eckerd’s
Duane Reade
Longs Drugs
Rite Aid
Walgreens
CVS
Grocery Stores/Supermarkets Read the rest of this entry »
As you may recall, I announced several weeks ago that i am working on a redesign of Giftcardblogger.com. The goal is to make the site more user friendly and also incorporate some new and exciting features. Well, the wait is almost over. The new and improved Giftcardblogger.com will be launched sometime next week.
To celebrate the new and improved site, I will start a 4 part series on gift card scams and fraud. The series will highlight the major types of gift card scams and fraud ideas out there and how to protect yourself from becoming a victim.
I am really excited about the new site and look forward to showing it to you soon. Stay tuned!
According to a story on Bloomberg News this morning, struggling retailer Circuit City has decided to put itself up for sale. The company is opening its books to Blockbuster and other investors interested in an acquisition. If you recall, i posted a story last week about rumors of the company being on the verge of bankruptcy, which turn out to be untrue.
What does this mean for gift card holders? This is a bit of good news since any effort to keep the company alive means gifts cards will continue to be redeemed. However, as I have mentioned before, if you have a Circuit City gift card, now is the time to use it. Also, I do not recommend buying a Circuit City gift card until the company’s future is clear.
This is a popular question online, especially on Yahoo Answers, so I did some research and here is what I found:
You can buy an iTunes gift card at the apple store. To do this, you need a valid credit card with a U.S. billing address. You can also buy them at many national retailers, supermarkets, and drug stores, including the following: Read the rest of this entry »
Giftcards.com is offering a free gift card worth $25 if you purchase a $100 Visa gift card or more and pay through eBillme. The eBillme service offered by Giftcards.com allows you to pay for purchases from the site through your checking account without a need for a credit card. The $25 will come in form of an instant rebate on your transaction total when you checkout through eBillme. Offer is for new users of eBillme only. For more on this offer, click here.
I think this is a great offer since you get $25 off while purchasing a Visa gift card, which will make a great graduation, birthday, or wedding gift.
Here is some good news for Linens n’ Things gift card holders. The company will continue to honor gift cards despite the recent bankruptcy filing.
According to a story on Promo Magazine’s website, Linens n’ Things has received approval from the bankruptcy court to allow customers to continue redemption of gift cards and coupons. As you may recall, i posted a story a few days ago about the company filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
This is also good news for Linens n’ Things since I believe it will enable the company retain some of its current customers, prevent the competition from exploiting its misfortune (as Brookstone tried to do with The Sharper Image recently), project some sense of business as usual, and also attract new customers since their gift cards are popular.
