what to do if visa gift card is stolen

Sunday November 3, 2019

How Can I Get My Lost Gift Card Dorsum?

The Story of a Lost Gift Card

My brother chosen the other day to complain that he'd lost a souvenir card. He wanted to know if I had any tricks for getting it back. Like a criminal offense scene investigator, to respond his question, I first needed to understand how he treated the gift card earlier he lost it. The state of affairs is not good. He allegedly put the now-missing souvenir card in his pant pocket, but he could have thrown information technology on the counter next to the mail, or (most likely) he left information technology within the greeting card it came in–which he can't detect either. This case is about to go cold.

You lot've heard the saying, "treat gift cards similar greenbacks?" Well, it's true. Had my brother opened a greeting card and found a xx dollar pecker within, I doubt he would have stuffed the cash into his pocket, tossed it on the counter or left it in the card. He likely would have immediately put the money in his wallet. He should have washed the very same thing with his gift menu. Since he didn't, the chances of recovery are slim, but there are a few things I can nevertheless suggest.

If you bought the gift carte from a gift card mall, read this post on how to supercede a lost gift card from the grocery store.

How to Get Your Lost Souvenir Card Dorsum (Or Replaced)

While I cannot guarantee you volition exist able to get a lost souvenir menu back, you lot may be able to get it replaced if you lot have the gift card number, a payment receipt or the activation receipt. Without that data, replacing a lost gift card will exist a claiming, but even so worth the effort. Below are the steps I would accept to try and become a lost gift card back.

1. Observe the Souvenir Card Number

I know what you lot're thinking. "Without the gift card, how can I possibly detect the souvenir bill of fare number?" Well, having the physical plastic would exist the easiest way, of class, just that's not available. So we take to look at the original purchase for clues. Below are places to wait for the missing gift card number:

• Check the Activation Receipt. All gift cards must be activated (and funds allocated) at the time of purchase. The organization that activates the card will typically record the souvenir carte number, or a portion of it, on an activation receipt. This receipt may be printed on the bottom of the total purchase receipt or it might be a separate piece of paper. Make every attempt to find this receipt.
• Cheque the Purchase Receipt. If you can't find the activation receipt, check for any data y'all tin can discover on the purchase transaction. At a minimum, yous should be able to identify the engagement, time and dollar amount of the gift carte purchased. I'thousand hoping y'all'll also detect a portion of the gift carte du jour number there also.
• Check Your E-mail. If you ordered the gift carte from a website, and so you lot are in luck. While your email receipt may not have the gift card number on it, a full record of the transaction should exist hands attainable online.
• Check Your Bank Statement. Check the debit or credit bill of fare statement for the payment method used to purchase the gift card. Although the banking concern statement is not likely to accept the gift card number on it, I'm hoping yous'll at least find the date, fourth dimension and dollar amount of the gift card purchase.
• Cheque for a Fractional Redemption. If you lot used part of the lost gift card at some point, the company may have a record of the buy which might give you the gift card number used. If you used the souvenir card online, then the website you ordered from may notwithstanding take your souvenir card number in their organization (or may auto-fill the number if you return to the same website). It's a long shot, merely something yous could try in desperation.
• Ask the Giver. If you didn't purchase the gift card yourself, then y'all'll have to contact the person who did in order to get that information. I realize this may be an awkward situation and so yous'll have to decide whether or not the try is worth it. If my mom gave me a menu and I lost information technology, I'd ask her for the carte du jour information without hesitation. If an acquaintance gave me the card, then I probably wouldn't. This 1 is up to you.

If you find the lost souvenir card number, then your chances of recovering the associated funds increase significantly. If you can't find the number, don't surrender. Assemble activation, purchase and transaction data instead.

Think you're the victim of a souvenir card scam? Read this mail service on Gift Card Scam Protection.

2. Contact the Gift Card Seller (or Reseller)

Once you have the gift card number (or as much information as y'all can find), call customer service for the merchant that issued the gift card. Be aware that you will probable have to dig in and be prepared for more than a simple phone telephone call. Thieves love gift cards near as much every bit they love cash and souvenir carte scams are the modus operandi du jour. So be prepared to prove that you're one of the adept guys.

• When you make the call, explain what happened to the souvenir card and provide whatever information you have. The objective of the phone call is not to "observe" the gift card, but to find out if the gift carte has been used. If the carte hasn't been used, ask if information technology can be cancelled and a replacement gift card issued. (You may take to pay a fee to go a replacement menu.)
• If the card has been used, then it's not so much "lost" as it might have been stolen. Ask the customer service representative to explicate when and where the card got redeemed. In the process, you may sheepishly discover that you're the one who used it ("Ah…that'south correct, we did use the souvenir menu on our summer vacation.") or you lot may find clues as to who did. While a merchant certainly has no obligation to replace a stolen souvenir card, I have heard of it happening, especially if the theft mirrors a bigger fraud event.
• If you lot purchased the gift menu from a gift card mall (meaning somewhere other than direct from the merchant), you might demand to talk to both the seller and the reseller because each party only has admission to half of the transaction. The gift card reseller (souvenir carte du jour mall) should exist able to provide information about the gift card activation (due east.grand. maybe even provide the gift card number), merely they don't know if the card has been used. Conversely, the merchant can tell y'all about transactions on the card and the remaining balance, but it can't tell y'all information about the original purchase. Since both parties have a vested interest in providing a positive gifting feel, nonetheless, I would expect that both would exist willing to aid resolve the situation.

While the merchant may not exist willing to replace a lost gift card without having all of the data, it doesn't hurt to ask. If your merits is legitimate and yous've washed all the work needed to rail downward the card number, your efforts might be rewarded.

iii. Contact Your Bank

If yous can't go resolution or a replacement gift bill of fare from the gift carte du jour merchant, then possibly your banking concern has a heir-apparent protection policy that tin can assist. If you purchased the gift card with a debit or credit carte du jour, contact your bank to see if they have a replacement pick for lost or stolen trade.

Lost (or Stolen) in the Mail?

If you recall the card got "lost" in the mail, file a complaint with the U.s.a. Postal Service (or other shipping company) or contact your local authorities. Yous should likewise permit the merchant know that you lot are non the person who used the bill of fare. ("I live in California, the card was apparently used in Connecticut.") Although you are not likely to exist compensated for the missing card, perhaps your efforts will betrayal a bigger fraud problem and prevent others from having to endure the aforementioned disappointment.

How to Forbid Souvenir Cards from Getting Lost

The key to recovering a missing gift carte du jour is knowing the gift card number. Yous don't even need to find the concrete plastic if you can simply provide the number itself. To be sure yous never go caught without the souvenir card number once again, take the following precautions:

1. Put the Gift Menu in Your Wallet

By putting the gift card in your wallet next to the credit and debit cards you employ well-nigh ofttimes, you're more than likely to see the souvenir card on a regular ground. Seeing the gift menu will help yous use it in a timely manner. Using the carte du jour chop-chop prevents yous from losing it.

2. Record the Gift Card Number

This is very old school, but merely writing the gift carte number (and PIN, if it has one), on a notepad, in your smartphone or in a journal is a simple way to keep rails of the gift carte numbers you lot oasis't used. If you lose the physical plastic, you can always spend the gift menu online or call the issuing gift card company to order a replacement.

3. Put the Gift Bill of fare into an App or Mobile Wallet

The easiest way to keep track of gift card numbers is to enter the cards into a mobile wallet or gift card app. I take used several. If you store gift cards electronically, you may exist able to use the gift cards in stores without carrying the plastic plus many feature automatic residue checks so I don't accept to remember how much coin is on the card–the app keeps rail of it for me. For this reason, I think gift carte apps are useful for more than only making certain I take a way to recover a lost gift card.

4. Take a Pic of the Gift Card

Somewhere between writing the souvenir carte du jour number down on paper and entering the cards digitally into a mobile wallet is this hybrid solution that's a mix of both–only have a movie of the front and back of the gift card. In your photographic camera curlicue, you'll always have a copy of the carte du jour number, client service line and PIN, if applicable. (Be certain to scratch the Pin off before taking the picture). This is only one of 10 souvenir bill of fare hacks that tin can save yous time, money and hassle!

v. Register the Gift Card

Even if you look to use the souvenir card fairly quickly, it'due south a good idea to annals the gift carte du jour at the issuing company. At Giftcards.com, you can annals your Visa® Gift Card when you activate it. Others companies do the same. It's a lot easier to work with a company on replacing a card if they already take your client data (and the carte number) in their system.

half dozen. Salvage the Activation Receipt

This isn't my favorite thing to do when giving a gift considering information technology looks…ugly, but I frequently tuck the activation receipt of a gift card into the gift card holder. This way, the recipient has a record of the buy if annihilation goes wrong. If yous receive the activation slip, hold onto it until the gift carte du jour is fully redeemed.

Retailers and gift card issuers will be more likely to work with customers on recovering or replacing lost gift cards if there is proof that the souvenir card story is legitimate. That proof comes in the shape of knowing the gift card number, when it was purchased, the dollar corporeality on the carte du jour, and so forth. Without that information, asking for a replacement gift card is like asking for a replacement 20 dollar bill…not likely to happen. Better to avoid that situation entirely by keeping better track of the gift card in the offset place.

Equally for my brother, he is out of luck. He didn't care for the souvenir card like cash, he didn't write downwardly the number or get an activation receipt and he hadn't registered the gift card anywhere. All he got out of this particular gift bill of fare is a lesson learned.

If you have any experience on getting a lost or stolen gift carte replaced, let me know about it in the comments below or accomplish out to me on Twitter (@GCGirlfriend). Possibly your story volition help us all larn something new.

Happy Souvenir Carding!

~Shelley Hunter, Gift Card Girlfriend

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Source: https://www.giftcards.com/gcgf/lost-gift-card

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