Gift card empty - scam/fraud

[BrittyF]

I’m so frustrated! 

I went to Sephora two days ago to use a $50 gift card I received last year for my birthday. Imagine my surprise to be told by the cashier that the gift card was empty — yet the sticker covering the card number and pin was still attached and not tampered with. 

I’m reading over and over in the Sephora community and Reddit that this is a common issue and ultimately it’s a scam and fraud — Sephora still gets their money when the GC is purchased, while “someone” gets the money off the gift card. Those of us who purchase or receive gift cards are the ones being negatively impacted.  It’s so upsetting and frustrating. 

[Bmamma]

The exact same thing just happened to me!!! Received a gift card in March from a friend because my house burned down, has been in a drawer in the packaging since. Took it to a store today and they said it had a $0 balance. I called the support number and they said it was used on April 4th… zero chance that was me. I hadn’t even scratched the numbers until today. When I googled this, there are SO many people reporting the same thing. Now I’m supposed to call my friend up and hope she has a receipt from months ago so she can dispute with her credit card company? Such a joke & @sephora takes zero accountability.

[kay179]

I had the same issue. My daughter turned 13 and received a gift card from her friend. Debated forever to decide what she wanted and when she finally went to use the gift card, the balance is zero. So disheartening for a child. Customer service will not take responsibility for it, but they can tell me that it was redeemed online up to the last cent two weeks after it was bought in the United States. my daughter doesn’t shop online and we live in Canada 🤷. Sounds sophisticated. Pretty tough lesson to teach a kid. This is a huge scam, someone is selling these numbers and getting a big cut whether it’s Sephora, or someone in customer service. Something needs to be done, or better yet-Sephora needs to show accountability for working toward a solution. Such an obvious theft-and they won’t help. It’s not right. 

[keelybt]

@BrittyF I'm sorry to hear that!  It looks like your private messages are currently turned off. Please send me a private message with your gift card number or you can contact us by phone at 1-877-737-4672 or through our live chat for assistance> https://www.sephora.com/beauty/customer-service