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" No longer the last-minute faux pas it once was, gift cards are now the most requested present this holiday season \u2013 in fact, more than half of us want to unwrap one on Christmas morning. But the convenient crowd-pleaser also comes with a huge hitch. Scammers can use all sorts of devious methods to steal what&amp;#039;s essentially cash, all without a leaving paper trail. Here&amp;#039;s how to avoid the fraud happening this holiday: Steer clear of those gift card display racks. Those in-store carousels can be an easy way to check off everyone on your list, but it&amp;#039;s just as simple for a thief to tamper with them. Card sharks can easily scan codes, copy down PIN numbers, or replace new gift cards with used ones. So when the real thing get activated, fraudsters are treated to a shopping spree. Never pay with gift cards online. Even if you&amp;#039;re not buying a gift card for someone else, be wary of sites you come across in your online holiday shopping. Any seller that requests payment in the form of gift cards or prepaid debit cards is looking for a permanent, untraceable transaction. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s essentially mailing them an envelope full of money,&amp;quot; David Newman of the Federal Trade Commission told CBS Boston. Free gift cards? Yeah, right. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Pop-up ads or emails offering free or heavily discounted gift cards (usually 50% or more off) reel in victims for identity theft, so don&amp;#039;t be tempted by what appears to be a good deal. You won&amp;#039;t walk away with store credit \u2014 and crooks will know your personal information. Before you swear off gift cards forever, there&amp;#039;s a few rules of thumb to keep yourself safe. Treat them like cash, use them as quickly as possible, and only get them directly from trusted retailers. Now you can start thinking about what you&amp;#039;ll get on your Sephora shopping binge... For more information on these scams, check out NBC News. [via  NBC News] "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/money/news/a36026/common-gift-card-scams/>