Gift card bought but is empty

[Anonymous]

Hi - I bought a 50$ gift card on May 25, 2020 from my Local grocery store. Today (May 30, 2020) - we checked the balance and it is 0$. The receipt from the grocery store clearly states the purchase with an approval code. I called the number on the back of card and spoke to a lady (I guess a person who looks into the GC) that said the card was used May 26. When I said that we haven't used this card before, she transferred me to another Customer Support rep who could not find any transactions, but did confirm the GC has a $0 balance. So what am I supposed to do now?

[kevinbt]

HI @Anonymous - I'm sorry to hear that! With gift cards purchased at third-party retailers, we are unable to offer further assistance. I'm sorry! 

Regards, 

Kevin

[cmb321]

UGH, this is such a well-known scam! Those cards at the grocery stores are often tampered with by criminals since they're kept out in the open.

Essentially the scammer scratches off the silver-covered PIN number, writes it down/takes a picture, and then replaces it with a new covering. These new coverings are small, cheap, and easy for criminals to bring into the stores unnoticed. Then when the card is activated, the scammer finds out (not sure if they keep a notification or what) and are able to use the card... it is likely that the person who buys the card won't use it the day they purchase it, so it's really an easy crime.

Did the silver-covered PIN number that you scratched off look tampered with in any way?