Ontario family waits 4 months to get money back from fraudulent gift cards

Danielle Vanier says they purchased $300 worth of Sephora and Home Depot gift cards at Shoppers Drug Mart, but they were drained when they tried to use them.

An Ontario family says it took months to get the $300 in gift cards back that they were scammed out of.

“It’s just been a complete runaround,” Danielle Vanier, of Lakefield, Ont., told CTV News Toronto.

For Christmas, Vanier said her father purchased $300 worth of gift cards for Sephora and Home Depot for her and other members of her family. But, when they went to use them, she said the cards were empty.

“Upon using the gift cards, we realized that none of them had a balance,” said Vanier.

The gift cards were bought from a Shoppers Drug Mart, Vanier says, and even though they had the receipts proving when and where they were purchased, she was getting bounced around between Shoppers and the other stores involved.

“To me, it seems like people are passing the buck, and no one wants to take the time to investigate this,” said Vanier.

Gift card fraud can take several forms but, generally, criminals go to a store, copy the card number and bar activation code, then reseal the package. They may also place stickers with fake bar codes on the card, so when the card is activated, the money goes straight to the scammer.

“You want to make sure the gift card has not been tampered with in any way,” Jeff Horncastle with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) says.

To protect yourself from gift card fraud, CAFC advises examining the gift card first before purchasing them. CAFC also recommends buying gift cards that are displayed behind the counter or online, as well as saving the receipt in case there’s an issue.

Horncastle says there can be an advantage to pay for gift cards with a credit card.

“We always say to use a credit card to make a purchase for the gift card in case a problem does occur (so you’ll) have a fraud protection to fall back on,” said Horncastle.

After four months of trying, Vanier says they just want their money back.

“It’s a very elaborate scam that’s being run and I’m worried for seniors that they will be taken advantage of and other people and light needs to be brought to this situation,” said Vanier.

When CTV News contacted Shoppers Drug Mart for comment, a spokesperson said they were “very sorry” to hear about Vanier’s situation and noted gift card fraud is a prevalent issue impacting the retail sector.

“Our store teams are trained to recognize tampering and other fraudulent situations involving gift cards, doing their best to intercept suspicious transactions before purchase. That said, we understand this is a frustrating experience for customers,” a Loblaw Public Relations spokesperson said in a statement. Shoppers Drug Mart is a subsidiary of Loblaw.

“We’ve looked into this and worked with our gift card vendor to approve compensation for the customer in either PC Optimum points or a Shoppers Drug Mart gift card and have resolved this issue.”

Vanier’s family received $300 in Shoppers Drug Mart gift cards.

“It’s a relief to have this finally dealt with,” said Vanier.