The winter holiday season is an exciting time for many businesses. Unfortunately, this time of year often brings thieves and scammers out of the woodwork. Gift cards are a popular target of this fraud. Luckily, there are ways to protect your business. Keep reading to learn how to keep your business safe from potential thieves and scams.<\/p>\n
A popular gift card scam is for criminals to create a story in which someone needs to send them the numbers from a loaded gift card in exchange for something. Sometimes, these criminals try to do the same with employees, but their target is often average, na\u00efve shoppers. While you can\u2019t control your customers or protect them from all kinds of fraud, you can help educate them. Place signs near your gift cards reminding them that no legitimate business or person will ask for gift cards in exchange for something else. If someone is purchasing an exceptionally large gift card, politely ask about their intention with it and make sure they haven\u2019t fallen for a scam. Some people will ignore the signs and dodge the conversation, but if you can prevent others from losing money, your efforts will be worth it.<\/p>\n
You can\u2019t have eyes everywhere all the time, even on just your gift cards. Adding a security system helps you put electronic eyes out. You can look for strange activity from employees trying to sneak out some extra money or fake customers trying to rip you off. Focus the security system on your gift cards, expensive merchandise, and registers. While you may worry that you\u2019re spying on your employees and customers, what you\u2019re really doing is protecting yourself and your business, which is best for all honest people.<\/p>\n
Some gift card manufacturers, including us here at Silk Cards, allow you to customize your gift cards in various ways. One customization option is a scratch-off portion hiding a pin. Adding this pin adds extra security to your card because no one can just take a picture of an unused card and then try to use the numbers in online purchases. They\u2019ll need to scratch off the covering to see the pin, which lets your business know that someone has tampered with it. From there, you can shut down that card, preventing fraud.<\/p>\n