SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Damien Garcia says he recently learned the hard way just how easy it is to tamper with gift cards.
Garcia loaded $87 onto an Amazon gift card at a San Diego Walgreens store. The amount was a lot for Garcia, who lives on a fixed income.
“Because I'm disabled, I have kind of a limited fund available for things like this,” Garcia said.
Garcia said he would use the $87 on the card to buy a screen he could use with his drone. He’s in school to get his drone operator’s license and hopes to graduate soon to start his own business.
He said after he left the Walgreens store on Euclid Avenue, he opened the Amazon envelope and realized the card had been cut in half. The card’s claim code was gone.
“And as we looked at it, we noticed that there was a slit in the side of the envelope that holds the gift card.”
The Better Business Bureau says thieves can tamper with gift cards in several ways.
“Usually how it would work is somebody previously may come by and use the card, but then put a temporary sticker on the back of the card and then put it back on the shelves,” said Jasmine Hill, the BBB’s operations and engagement lead in Phoenix.
She said little recourse is available to consumers who discover their cards have been drained.
“We want to treat it like cash. It's just as valuable as cash.”
Americans report the theft of $50 million dollars from gift cards every three months, according to AARP.
Garcia said he tried unsuccessfully to get a refund from a Walgreens manager. “She pointed towards the sign and said all sales are final on gift cards.”
Walgreens told ABC 10News it would address the issue directly with Garcia and had no further comment.
In the end, after much back and forth, Amazon gave Garcia a full refund.
With just a week before Christmas, the San Diegan is now warning other shoppers to take a careful look at gift cards before paying for them.
“Check them really well. Check the sides.”
