B.C. charity issues holiday warning after $500 gift card drained of funds

As last-minute shoppers are ticking off their holiday lists, a Metro Vancouver non-profit is sharing a cautionary tale—after hundreds of dollars were somehow drained from a gift card.

Alexis Root founded Recovery Kidz Society to support families impacted by substance use disorder, and said a private donor recently reached out hoping to help someone in need.

As she usually did, Root went to Shoppers Drug Mart in Pitt Meadows and purchased a $500 gift card that was displayed on the store floor.

But when the family went to use it, the gift card “didn’t work,” said Dan, the recipient.

He described the experience as awkward and embarrassing.

Root was stunned, telling CTV News there was nothing about the card that raised alarm bells for her during her purchase.

“It was fully sealed, there was plastic,” said Root.

Simone Lis from the Better Business Bureau said there are normally tell-tale signs that a gift card has been compromised: “The paper has been tampered with, someone has removed it and then replaced it with another barcode, or sealed it back up,” she said.

She said employees at the Shoppers Drug Mart where she purchased the gift card also told her, “That happens all the time. We’re well aware of it.”

In a statement, Loblaw Companies Ltd., which owns the pharmacy chain, said employees are “trained to recognize tampering and other fraudulent situations involving gift cards,” and do their best to “intercept suspicious transactions before purchase.”

While the gift card was ultimately refunded, Root said she believes more needs to be done, such as keeping all gift cards behind the counter at every store.

“People in Canada, right now especially, are working so hard for their money,” she said.