They also come amid an initiative to take on fraudsters that has run for a year. “By working collaboratively with these retailers, we’ve created a way for businesses to take proactive steps to prevent scams,” New York State Attorney General Barbara Underwood said in a statement.
At the same time, the changes also dictate that store-branded gift cards can’t be redeemed for other gift cards and place a cap on the amount of money that can be added to the cards. The retailers have stepped up their training, too, in an effort to aid workers in identifying scams.
In those cases, scammers have reportedly impersonated tax agents looking for payments for purportedly owed taxes or grandchildren needing funds to get out of legal difficulties.
The news comes as a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) report early this year claimed that fraudsters are increasingly requesting to be paid with gift cards. Some scammers are reportedly even requesting specific brands like iTunes and Google Play gift cards, it was reported in October. The FTC examined fraud reported directly to the agency, but it did not include reports in regards to shop-at-home purchases.
That figure rose from only 7 percent in 2015, which marked an increase of 270 percent. Fraudsters like to use these kinds of cards because they allow them to expediently receive cash, as well as remain anonymous, and the transaction is usually irreversible.