Recent arrests in CA and AZ highlight the growing concern of retail gift card scams and their impact on the consumers. Indeed, the Better Business Bureau saw a 50% increase in the number of reported gift card fraud from 2022-2023. This fraud usually involves scammers tricking people into sharing card details or tampering with gift cards displayed for sale in retail stores.

The challenges presented by these types of gift card scams bring an opportunity for your credit union to provide a solution that gives members peace of mind. After all, who wants to give their loved ones and co-workers empty gift cards that will leave them disappointed?

Some ways to help members avoid buying empty cards include sharing helpful tips for checking gifts on the rack as well as offering your own credit union issued gift cards. The latter option gives members the opportunity to buy cards that have been stored safely behind the counter where the likelihood of tampering is greatly diminished. Some programs also give members greater peace of mind with the ability to:

• The ability to track purchases online, making suspicious activity easier to spot.
• Allowing cardholders to choose their pin number when activating a gift card, which can frustrate scammers.

As a credit union, you can be a holiday hero to members by keeping them informed about fraud and sharing tips for checking store bought cards. You can also let them know about your own prepaid gift card offerings as a more reliable alternative. Click here for an informative article to share on this topic via your website, emails, or other member communications.

At Envisant we’re here to help you be the difference for your members. To learn how our team of prepaid experts can help set up a card program that offers strong fraud protection, contact the Envisant sales department at 1-800-942-7124.