POSitive Processing Blog

Gift Cards: The Gift That Thieves Keep Taking
Monday, April 29, 2019

Gift Cards, Fraud, Theft, Security

Gift cards. They attract new customers, improve loyalty, and increase cash flow. We’ve talked about how gift cards boost your bottom line, now it’s time to discuss how to protect your business from fraudsters looking to take advantage of these revenue boosters.

It’s no secret gift cards are one of the easiest ways for merchants to increase both consumer traffic and profit margins. However, as the volume of gift cards increases year after year, the amount of fraud against consumers and merchants has also become a growing issue.

HOW GIFT CARD FRAUD WORKS
Gift card fraud can take on several different forms. This past holiday season has shown us a few emerging trends in both in-person and online fraud.

Physical—The loss from physical gift card fraud can seem relatively minor, but they can add up. Almost 60% of retailers reported fraudulent gift cards in 2017, accounting for billions in annual losses across the country. Common physical scams include Scratch-off, fraudsters copy the gift card number, scratch off to get the pin, and then replace it with another cover, and Return, stealing items, returning the items for store credit, and reselling the gift card for cash.

Electronic—E-gift cards are great for both online and physical merchants, saving you time and money while being highly convenient. However, a breach on this front can be extremely costly to an unprotected business. If a business is breached, thieves can gain access to hundreds of cards all at once, causing potentially unlimited damage.

HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF
When it comes to physical gift cards, always keep them close at hand. Have a display at the POS terminal where customers can easily purchase them, while still keeping them protected. If you have a floor display, consider changing up the packaging. If the card is sealed in a way that the pin cannot be accessed without obvious damage, the odds of it being scammed drastically decrease.

The best step to protecting yourself? Partnering with a payment processor whose top priority is your security. The tighter your payments and processing security is, the less vulnerable you are to data theft. Also, ensure your processor provides both incident management and insurance.

At OMEGA, we work every day to provide our merchants with the best and most secure options to keep you, your business, and your consumers safe from fraud. Our PCI ToolKit and Vulnerability Scanning reduce risk and continually check for potential weak points of entry, while our Data Incident Management Program and Breach Insurance protect your business in the event a breach should occur.

Don’t let the fraudsters scare you away from the bottom line boosting world of gift cards—we’re here to keep you secure!

Categories

B2B and E-Commerce Solutions
- 10/13/2017 - Saving on B2B Interchange
- 05/03/2017 - EMV Option Now Available for V
- 02/09/2017 - Why Should Your B2B Business A
Data Security and Fraud Prevention
- 04/29/2019 - Gift Cards: The Gift That Thie
- 04/03/2019 - Chargebacks: What Are They and
- 02/13/2019 - 3 Tips To Protect Your Busines
- 11/12/2018 - Are you PCI Compliant?
- 03/14/2018 - Merchant Guide: 10 Essential T
- 02/12/2018 - Common Business Scams and How
- 02/09/2018 - Data Security Fast Facts
- 01/17/2018 - Vulnerability Scanning vs. Pen
- 01/17/2018 - BBB Warns of Email Scams This
- 01/10/2018 - Arm Your Business Against Cybe
- 11/15/2017 - MERCHANT FRAUD ALERT, 11-15-20
- 09/22/2017 - Have You Heard How OMEGA’s Dat
- 08/02/2017 - MERCHANT FRAUD ALERT, 08-02-20
FI Partner Program
- 11/08/2016 - Pursuing the Perfect Payments
Gift Cards and Customer Rewards
- 04/01/2019 - Spring Has Sprung and So Can Y
- 09/06/2018 - The Holidays Are Coming..Are Y
- 08/22/2018 - Sales are up 100%!
- 09/13/2017 - When Should You Start Planning
- 08/18/2017 - Black Friday is Coming!
- 07/19/2017 - Gift and Loyalty: We Have an A
- 02/23/2017 - Boost Spring Sales with OMEGA’
Just For Fun
- 11/14/2018 - Thanksgiving Fun Facts
- 05/24/2017 - Facts You Might Not Know (or M
- 03/13/2017 - Keys To Success — 8 To Be Grea
- 09/02/2016 - Happy Labor Day Weekend!
Miscellaneous
- 02/27/2019 - Take The Hassle Out Of Tax Sea
- 02/13/2018 - Innovative Visa Wearables Make
- 02/13/2018 - Little-Known Secrets of Credit
- 07/19/2017 - Beat the Summertime Blues
Mobile Payments
- 11/08/2017 - Mobile Made Easy with OMEGA
- 08/03/2017 - A Good Thing Just Got Better —
- 10/18/2016 - SwipeSimple: Mobile Made Bette
OMEGA in the Community
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- 01/23/2017 - TWO New OMEGA Player’s of the
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OMEGA Merchants, News, and People
- 12/12/2018 - 2018 Year in Review
- 10/17/2018 - OMEGA Processing Solutions Cel
- 07/25/2018 - OMEGA Processing’s Kim Polark
- 05/31/2018 - OMEGA Processing’s Daena Spraf
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- 04/11/2018 - How’s an Extra $100 Sound?
- 12/28/2017 - 2017 Year in Review
- 10/11/2017 - NO Contract. NO ETF. NO Long-T
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- 12/30/2016 - Some of our Favorite Moments
- 09/01/2016 - OMEGA Processing’s Caroline Ok
OMEGA Spotlight
- 05/14/2019 - OMEGA Spotlight - Stevie Dumbu
Payments Industry
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- 01/09/2019 - Account Tune Up for the New Ye
- 09/19/2018 - Has Your Bottom Line Seen the
- 09/18/2018 - Are Your Business Merchants’ S
- 05/22/2018 - Interchange Explained
- 04/11/2018 - What to Avoid When Searching f
- 04/06/2018 - The Importance of Choosing You
- 12/21/2017 - The Basics of Chargebacks
- 12/12/2017 - No Need to Sign on the Dotted
- 07/26/2017 - Back to the Basics - Merchant
- 03/17/2017 - Innovation Project 2017
Point-of-Sale Systems
- 09/06/2017 - Turning a Tablet Into a Top Sa
Products and Services
- 10/03/2018 - Are Your Business Customers Se
- 08/15/2018 - Introducing Poynt… The World’s
- 06/11/2018 - Interchange Savings Tool Now A
- 01/03/2018 - Data Breach? We Got Your Back
- 12/27/2017 - How Does OMEGA Protect Your Cu
- 12/12/2017 - New Year? New Goals? New Capit
- 12/06/2017 - Process with the Best
- 09/06/2017 - Unlock Cash Flow Opportunities
- 08/30/2017 - Are You Hungry for the Details
- 08/09/2017 - Happy (2nd) New Year!
- 11/30/2016 - Are You Ready?
Short-Term Capital Funding
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- 12/30/2016 - What’s on Your Business Wish L

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