Why a Utah woman has to pay the price of gift card fraud committed hundreds of miles away

CEDAR HILLS, Utah — Some folks purchase present playing cards as a result of they imagine it’s safer than giving money, however a Cedar Hills lady says she’s going to by no means purchase a present card once more after a criminal made off with lots of of {dollars} she thought have been safe.

Final Christmas, Jana Gunderson purchased eight $100 Visa present playing cards for her household. However instantly, her children seen an issue.

“On Christmas Day, my son referred to as me and he says, ‘Did you overlook to place cash on these present playing cards?’”

No, she didn’t.

Whereas the playing cards have been bodily wrapped beneath Gunderson’s Christmas tree and ready to be opened, somebody stole the cash she loaded on these playing cards. And so they did it at shops lots of of miles away in California and Miami.

“This card was really drained on the twenty fourth of December,” she stated about one of many eight compromised playing cards.

Now, if this had been bank card fraud, getting her a refund can be so simple as disputing the fees as fraudulent. However regardless of being branded with the identify of a bank card firm that everyone knows, attempting to get a refund has been an outright combat.

“It makes me indignant that somebody stole from me, however I don’t need him doing it to my neighbor,” stated Gunderson, who’s mad and whose mother advised she name Get Gephardt.

“She stated, ‘It’s worthwhile to name Gephardt as a result of he’ll let folks know.’”

We took Gunderson’s story to Ted Rossman of CreditCards.com, who says not solely is drained present playing cards a fairly frequent fraud, however the legal guidelines that defend you from bank card fraud don’t apply to present playing cards — even when they bear the brand of a significant bank card firm.

“Sadly, there’s not nice purchaser protections on present playing cards,” Rossman stated.

Certain sufficient, regardless of having the Visa brand proper on the entrance, once we reached out to Visa to ask about Gunderson’s Visa-branded present playing cards getting drained, they denied any accountability.

“Visa is a fee community and doesn’t subject or maintain the funds deposited into pay as you go fee playing cards,” it advised us.

They went on to say Gunderson ought to name the shop she purchased the playing cards from, or the variety of the monetary establishment that issued the cardboard — data that’s discovered on the again.

Rossman’s recommendation: “Use them as quickly as potential,” he stated. “As a result of the extra you wait, the extra likelihood there may be for one thing to go fallacious.”

“I believed giving a present card was safer than giving money and it’s not,” Gunderson stated of her expertise.

After months of combating, she stated she bought a number of the cash drained from her present playing cards refunding. As for this yr, the children are getting money. No plastic.

“It’s not truthful. Folks don’t know to not purchase present playing cards,” she stated in regards to the lack of safety.