Over the past couple of years, gift cards have grown into the perfect gift for many consumers. This is because they offer the perfect solution in situations when people are not sure what to buy someone for a special occasion. On the other hand, a gift card purchase for retailers ensures that the holder will eventually purchase something from their store and that secures a future sale. Gift card fraud is also becoming an increasing problem with all types of retailers. Those who build strong programs to protect their gift cards are the ones who are least affected by such activities, so here are some ways to accomplish just that:
- Protecting the card itself
- Point of sale fraud
- Handling and displaying the card
- Employee fraud
Protecting The Card Itself
The card itself should be your very first point of protection against fraud and numerous gift card providers are continuously developing new security features to offer better protection. For example, encrypted magnetic strips can prevent card duplication while protecting against manual utilization can be done with pin numbers protected by scratch-off labels. Consider investing in these great features to protect your program.
Point Of Sale Fraud
The point of sale is most often where frauds involving tenders occur. If you are looking for ways to help you determine various risks at your point of sale, make sure to thoroughly examine and understand how your point of sale issues, redeems and cashes cards, as well as when the card is activated in your POS system.
Handling And Displaying Of The Card
When looking to determine whether or not your gift card program is susceptible to fraud, you should also pay attention to where and how you display gift cards. For example, it’s very easy for a customer to take several blank cards and duplicate them for fraud if your cards are not properly maintained at the store or are displayed in an unorganized fashion. An indicator of concern is noticing missing sections of your gift card display and deterring theft of blank cards is best done by keeping them in an area where they can be seen by employees.
Employee Fraud
Company employees are sometimes the biggest card fraudsters. One of the known methods through which employees accomplish this involves switching customers’ gift cards with zero balance cards and selling the customer card or using it to purchase merchandise. The customers become aware of this only when they go to make a purchase with a zero balance card. To prevent this from happening, keep special track of blank cards and make sure used gift cards are discarded properly.
Looking To Prevent Gift Card Fraud? Have Your Gift Cards Made By Quickcards
Criminals are becoming more and more creative when it comes to ways they use gift cards to cheat your company and customers. The best possible way to prevent this from happening is to have your gift cards manufactured by an experienced professional who will input all of the required safety measures and features in order to prevent the misuse of your gift cards. Quickcards uses a state-of-the-art manufacturing process for just this purpose, making it the ideal choice for manufacturing your secure gift cards. Get in touch with Quickcards today to learn more about its process and get your hands on secure and safe gift cards.
