Maycember Gift Card Gifting. Make It Fun, Safe & Scam-Free for All Your Favorite People!

Maycember is here. The time of year when we celebrate moms, dads, teachers, coaches, grads and more. And can you guess the most popular and beloved way to celebrate these important people? You guessed it – gift cards!  

Gift cards are a convenient and safe way to show special people in our lives that they are seen and appreciated. Maycember is the second most popular time of year for gift card giving – second only to the Christmas holidays. With Teacher Appreciation Week, Mother’s Day, graduations, Father’s Day, dance recitals and end of spring sports right around the corner— millions of shoppers will be purchasing gift cards this month.  

And as they do, scammers are unfortunately hoping to profit from your generosity. While retailers, card networks, and distributors have implemented numerous preventative measures to protect gift cards, sophisticated fraudsters adapt quickly, and new scams are emerging daily.  

To counter this threat, industry leaders are collaborating through the Gift Card Fraud Prevention Alliance with federal, state and local law enforcement authorities, regulators, and other stakeholders to advocate for legislation that assigns clear criminal penalties for gift card tampering and scams. To date 17 states have passed laws that criminalize gift card fraud providing law enforcement with the tools they need to arrest and prosecute perpetrators of gift card scams.  

But industry and law enforcement can’t stop scams alone; we need consumers to do their part too. Gift cards are meant to be just that: gifts for teachers, moms, graduates, dads, and loved ones. If anyone pressures you to buy gift cards as a payment for bills, taxes, fees, ransom, bail, or to claim a prize—it's likely a scam. Do not fall for it. Never share gift card numbers or PINs with strangers and always inspect physical cards at the store for signs of tampering before buying.  

When purchasing a gift card, make sure you keep your gift card receipt. If you end up with a drained card, your receipt may help you recover lost funds.  

And if you do check a gift card balance, only visit the web address or call the phone number listed on the back of the gift card. Type in the web address to your browser. Never use search engines to locate a balance check site. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security reports that spoofed websites are an emerging favorite scam for fraudsters. They set up fake websites that look legitimate and buy google ads to convince you to click on their sites. When you enter your gift card information on the site to check a card balance, funds are immediately drained by criminals on the other side of the computer. We need consumers to be mindful of these scams so they can protect their gift card funds!  

If you encounter gift card fraud or suspect something suspicious, report it immediately to your state Attorney General’s office and local police department. Quick action helps protect you and others from these scams and helps law enforcement hold bad actors accountable.  

Remember: Stay vigilant, never give out gift card details to strangers, hang on to your receipts and only check balances on the sites listed on the back of the gift card.  

Together we can keep gift cards for gifts and use them to celebrate everyone we cherish this Maycember!  

Learn more at protectmygiftcard.com