Saint John police are issuing a reminder to anyone purchasing gifts cards to be diligent when they do so after officers were alerted to some with tampered packaging.
“In most cases, the cards are either removed from the store and brought back or taken to another part of the store and then returned to the shelf once they have been altered with,” Const. Duane Squires said in a press release.
When the packaging around the card is opened, a fraudulent barcode is then slipped in over the top of the real barcode.
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The fraudulent card will then have an additional barcode at the top of the card, which scans as a different card.
“A little strip of whiteout is over one bar of the original barcode, so the cashier will automatically activate the fraudulent barcode,” said Squires.
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If you believe that any gift card you have purchased has been tampered with, police are urging you to contact the store you purchased it from and report it to them.
Saint John police are also reminding businesses to check their current stock of gift cards that come in packaging to ensure they haven’t been tampered with.
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