Windsorite 'baffled' after gift card turns out to be fake

A gift card purchased as a Christmas present turned out to be fraudulent — despite looking like all the other gift cards on the rack. 

Retired Windsorite Carol Read bought her husband a gift card to The Keg for Christmas in early December. When it came time to use the card, the manager came out to their table to let them know it was a fake. 

"This was supposed to be a Christmas gift to me and it turned out to be a bag of crap," said Robert Read.

Carol said the manager told them the card even felt different than legitimate cards — it was laminated.

Another clue to fraud? The URL on the back of the card misspelled "steak" as "stake."

Carol said the fake card was sealed in what looked like the original packaging and the clerk at the FreshCo where she purchased it had to tear it open to activate the barcode on the back.

"I'm baffled," said Carol.

Carol said she tried to take the card back to FreshCo but they wouldn't accept the return. The receipt specifically says there are no returns on gift cards.

A spokesperson with the Better Business Bureau said stores can't reimburse customers because they don't know if the card has been used or not. The BBB says there are scams where fraudsters tamper with gift cards in the stores and are able to divert the cash to themselves when the cards are activated but they aren't sure how this scam worked.

"The BBB has a scam tracker on its website," said Monica Braz, marketing and communications manager for the Better Business Bureau in Western Ontario. 

"We encourage people to go online, fill in what they think is either a scam in their area or that they actually have been involved in and then others can log on to BBB.org, and look at scam tracker, look at their particular area and see some of the activities that are going on."

Braz also recommended stores put gift cards behind the counter to prevent tampering.

"I want my hundred bucks back," said Carol. "I just feel like I was ripped off."

In an email, a spokesperson for Blackhawk Network, the company listed as the distributor for Read's card, said "gift card fraud, including packaging tampering, is not common, but does happen from time to time."

"For that reason, security is of the utmost importance to us," wrote spokesperson Geoff Renstrom, adding that the company would like additional information about Read "so that we can investigate her situation further."

" Although we are not able to provide specific details about our ongoing security and fraud prevention measures or this specific matter, we can share that we are constantly improving our anti-fraud technology, and we partner with law enforcement and retail industry organizations to help promote a safe shopping environment for consumers."

Renstrom also recommended several steps consumers can take to protect themselves against gift card fraud:

• Inspect card packaging to make sure it hasn't been tampered with, including the PIN number to make sure it hasn't already been scratched.
• Watch the card during the purchasing transaction to make sure the same card is returned.
• Double check both the activation receipt and the card's last four digits to make sure the numbers match.
• Where possible, register the card after it's been purchased at the website listed on the back.
• Take a picture of the card's front and back after purchasing it. This can help if the card is lost.

CBC News reached out to FreshCo and The Keg. They said they are looking into the issue but haven't provided formal statements.

Carol filed a police report and The Keg treated the Reads to dinner for their troubles.