How To Protect Your Gift Cards From Cloning – 8 Easy Steps (2023)

Gift cards are always a hit when you want to buy something special for a loved one. The recipient can use the gift card to purchase something from a store or online. But did you ever wonder if you could clone gift cards?

One of the most popular forms of gift card fraud involves thieves tampering with cards inside the retailer's store. This is usually done before the cards are purchased by legitimate customers.

The thieves use a handheld card reader, they will swipe the stripe to record the card's serial number and other useful data needed to duplicate the card.

How are gift cards hacked?

To clone a gift card, fraudsters steal information from inactivated cards on stores shelves, replicate the cards by using a magnetic card reader/writer, and wait patiently for the cards to be activated. Once activated, they spend the cloned gift cards even before the purchaser tries to use their legitimate card.

There's no doubt that gift cards are popular presents, but they can also be a target for fraudsters. If you're not careful, a scammer could clone your gift card and use it to buy items for themselves.

Gift cards are a popular present during the holiday season, but they can also be a target for scammers. Gift card cloning is when a scammer copies the information from a legitimate gift card and uses it to purchase items or withdraw money from an ATM.

8 Easy Steps To Help You Protect Your Gift Cards fro From Cloning

Here are 8 steps to help protect yourself from gift card cloning:

1. Only buy gift cards from trusted sources.

2. Check the security features on the gift card. Many gift cards have holograms or other security features that can be checked by scratching off the coating on the back of the card.

3. Keep your gift card information confidential. Don't share the card number, PIN, or other details with anyone.

4. Don't use gift cards for online transactions. Gift cards are not as secure as credit or debit cards and can be easily cloned.

5. Check the balance of your gift card regularly. This will help you spot any fraudulent transactions quickly.

6. Keep your gift cards safe. Make sure you keep your gift cards in a safe place, where nobody else can access them.

7. Don't share your gift card details with strangers. If someone asks you for your card number, security code, or PIN, don't give it to them.

8. Don't save your gift card number on your computer or mobile phone. If your device is lost or stolen, someone could access your gift card details and use them fraudulently.