Vancouver woman warning others after retail gift card scam costs thousands

For the second time in a week, a member of the public has contacted CTV News with complaints about fraudulent gift cards being sold.

Jen Hamilton thought gift cards would make ideal prizes to hand out at her corporate holiday party.

The Oxygen Yoga and Fitness CEO spent $2,400 on gift cards with varying values for a wide variety of stores, restaurants and online services.

In an interview with CTV News, she said she found it convenient that she could buy all the different cards at the Shoppers Drug Mart on Homer Street in Yaletown.

But it quickly became clear something was amiss.

“Well, we were getting calls they were at a zero value,” Hamilton said.

Of the 28 cards Hamilton purchased, so far only one has worked when someone tried to use it at the designated retailer.

Fraudsters somehow managed to drain the balance on each of the remaining cards – and that has only become apparent when the people who won them attempt to use them.

According to Hamilton, Shoppers Drug Mart has only agreed to refund her $100 for one of the compromised cards.

She said a manager at the Homer Street location advised her to call customer service to attempt to recover the rest of the money.

“I’m obviously pretty frustrated. We go to an establishment which I think is trustworthy and we’re left with no resolution, and to try to solve the problem on our own,” she said.

“When you purchase something from an organization, you think that they would actually stand behind the products that they’re selling.”

Hamilton said despite multiple attempts, she has not yet been successful reaching anybody at Shoppers Drug Mart who can help her.

“This is a scam that’s been going on for decades,” said Claudiu Popa, a financial technology security expert.

According to Popa, it is not a sophisticated scam – especially when would-be fraudsters have easy access to the unsold cards on store shelves.

“They either scratch off or heat the little cover over the PIN, they reveal the PIN, they copy the PIN,” he said. “And then on a daily basis they check to see whether the card has been activated.”

Popa said consumers can better protect themselves by only purchasing gift cards kept out of reach behind the counter, and carefully examining the packaging for signs of tampering.

Better yet, he said, purchasing the cards directly from desired brands, preferably online, is often much more secure than using third-party vendors.

In the meantime, Hamilton has taken to social media to share her experience, in part because she doesn’t know who has the outstanding cards she handed out, and she wants them to know in advance there might be a problem.

“Going to the store, or trying to purchase something, or going for dinner, and then not having any value on the card is, number one, embarrassing. And I mean, what if someone didn’t have their wallet with them?” Hamilton said.

CTV News reached out to Loblaw, Shoppers Drug Mart’s parent company, with questions about what steps the company is taking to prevent gift card fraud.

The company did not address the specific questions, but in a brief statement did say it had reached out to Hamilton in attempt to make things right with her situation.

“We also want to clarify that this this type of issue is not unique to Shoppers Drug Mart, it is one that impacts retailers across the industry,” Loblaw said in the statement.