Beware of Walmart Gift Cards

A friend was recently given a Walmart gift card for her birthday, but when she tried to use it there was no money shown. She showed the receipt she received with the card, but on further investigation was told that the card had been hacked and used by someone over 50 miles away. Apparently this is a big problem with Walmart gift cards. I for one will no longer be purchasing them. Walmart is aware of the problem and is choosing to do nothing about it and there are some class action lawsuits over it. My friend is still out the money. She was told that as far as Walmart is concerned it's a case of theft and nothing to do with them.  Here's how thieves gain access to the card information:

"While the gift cards are on the shelves, somebody would come in, scrape off the tamper strip on the back and record the secret information. So that before the gift cards are sold, the numbers are obtained by hackers. And when the money is put on card they’re able to be the first ones to suck off money on the card online, by making fraudulent purchases.”

Protect yourselves if you purchase gift cards:

• Buy gift cards online because people don’t have easy access to those cards.
• Don’t buy in-store racked cards with easily accessible numbers and PINs. Look for gift cards behind the counter or in well-sealed packaging.
• If it’s possible, change the security code when you buy the card.
• Secure your home computer through security updates. People can also gain access to your gift card number and PIN by hacking your computer.