Why gifts cards are the new favorite target for fraud

If you’re like most Americans, you have a few gift cards in your wallet right now. I have two, one has a snowman on it. In 2015, the average holiday shopper purchased two gift cards, and the total volume of gift card value is expected to reach $160 billion by 2018, according to Gift Card Granny.

Despite being great presents for many, prepaid gift cards can be a bullseye for fraud and money laundering. With tighter post-financial crisis regulation on larger amounts of money, and safer chip-enabled debit and credit cards, fraud has “shifted to the less valuable avenues — or at least previously less valuable,” says Stephen Ufford, CEO of Trulioo. “Any thinking person would ask where do I go next? One door closes, another opens. It’s trickled down.”

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