Want to create an interactive transcript for this episode?
Podcast: Closer Look
Episode: Not even gift cards are safe from scammers
Description: Buying some gift cards for Christmas? Don’t get scammed.Like so much else these days, gift cards have become a prime target for fraudsters, costing Canadian shoppers millions of dollars a year. (The Retail Council of Canada reported $5.7 million lost to gift card scams in 2024 — up from $3.8 million 2021.)Last week alone, police in both Hamilton and Waterloo Region announced major busts involving fraudulent gift cards. In the Hamilton case, police allege a man was “manipulating” cards on display at a store by replacing the barcodes with ones that belonged to cards he alrea...