{"id":529930,"date":"2025-12-16T10:41:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T15:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/2025\/12\/16\/\/"},"modified":"2025-12-16T10:41:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T15:41:09","slug":"beware-of-gift-card-draining-scams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/news\/2025\/12\/16\/beware-of-gift-card-draining-scams\/","title":{"rendered":"Beware of Gift Card \u2018Draining\u2019 Scams"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s\u00a0gift-giving season,\u00a0and DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb is warning consumers<\/a> to be cautious when\u00a0purchasing\u00a0gift cards. A common scheme called \u201cdraining\u201d could\u00a0rip\u00a0you off.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How It Works<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Draining is when a scammer takes an unpurchased gift card, scratches off the back to reveal the code, then covers it up again. Once someone purchases the card, the scammer then goes online and accesses the\u00a0card\u2019s\u00a0funds\u00a0with the stolen code.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In some cases, scammers take unpurchased gift cards and replace the barcode with a barcode that has already been activated.\u00a0Or\u00a0they can scan codes of unpurchased gift cards and wait until you\u00a0purchase\u00a0the card\u00a0to activate it and access\u00a0the money.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How You Can Protect Yourself<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Watch out for damaged gift card packaging or signs of tampering, especially the bar code and PIN. \u201cBut remember, even a gift card that appears untouched could still be unsafe to buy,\u201d Schwalb says.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To protect yourself from\u00a0scams, try to only buy gift cards from stores that keep them locked in a display case, behind the register, or that only add a barcode after the purchase.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also helps to purchase gift cards with a credit card so you can dispute the charge if necessary. You can also register the gift card with the retailer whenever possible and keep the receipt.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are a victim of a gift card scam, keep the card and the receipt, and report it to The DC Department of Insurance, Securities, and Banking and the Office of the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Feature image, Kenishirote\/stock.adobe.com<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Here’s how the scam works, and what you can do to avoid being a victim. ","protected":false},"author":1001963,"featured_media":529933,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41098],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-529930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBeware of Gift Card \u2018Draining\u2019 Scams<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Here's what to know about the recent gift card scam called draining, and how to avoid becoming a victim to it.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/news\/2025\/12\/16\/beware-of-gift-card-draining-scams\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Beware of 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