San Angelo Police Warn of Heartless Gift Card Scam

SAN ANGELO, TX –  As the holiday season approaches, the San Angelo Police Department is issuing a warning to the public about a concerning "Gift Card Scam" that has been sweeping across the nation, leaving unsuspecting shoppers in its wake.

“These scammers take a bunch of the gift cards from local stores, carefully open the packaging, cut off the part of the card that is redeemed by the purchaser, and place the altered gift card back into the original packaging so the gift card barcode can still be scanned at the store,” the police department stated. “They then take the altered gift cards back to the store and put them back on the displays so their unsuspecting victims can purchase them. Their victims then purchase the altered gift cards and are unaware that the gift card is now worthless, and the money was redeemed by the scammers.”

Here are some tips from San Angelo PD to avoid becoming a victim of a Gift Card Scam.

1. Make sure the gift card packaging is sealed and the protective cover/tape covering the pin is intact.

2. If a gift card is found to be altered in the store, notify the store manager so that they can thoroughly check their gift card display for additional altered cards.

3. Keep the store receipt in case the gift card you are purchasing is found to have been compromised.

4. Purchase an online gift card or an unaltered gift card directly from a cashier.

Please contact the desk duty officer at 325-481-2696 if anyone has any questions or if you were a victim of this scam.