{"id":95155,"date":"2025-09-18T12:31:40","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T07:01:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.seminarsonly.com\/news\/?p=95155"},"modified":"2025-09-18T12:45:51","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T07:15:51","slug":"cvs-gift-card-scam-gift-card-draining-tampering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/cvs-gift-card-scam-gift-card-draining-tampering\/","title":{"rendered":"CVS Gift Card Scam | Gift Card Draining\/Tampering"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><em>The CVS gift card scam refers to a large-scale &#8220;gift card draining&#8221; fraud operation recently busted in California, where criminals manipulated CVS gift cards to steal their funds.\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The suspects would remove gift cards from displays, record or alter the activation information, reseal the cards in original packaging, and return them to shelves. When customers bought these tampered cards and activated them, the scammers accessed and drained the funds on the cards.<\/p>\n<p>This scheme involved hundreds of CVS stores across California and resulted in the seizure of about 25,000 compromised gift cards. The suspects were arrested and face charges including burglary, grand theft, forgery, and conspiracy.<\/p>\n<p>This form of scam exploits the fact that recipients often do not report the loss since gift cards are bought as gifts. The losses from gift card frauds like this can total hundreds of millions of dollars nationwide annually.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #800000;\">Common Types of CVS Gift Card Scams<\/span><\/h2>\n<ol start=\"1\">\n<li>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><b>Gift Card Draining\/Tampering:<\/b> <\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>This is a physical scam. Scammers will go into stores and tamper with gift cards on the display racks. They might:\n<ul>\n<li>Steal the card number and PIN by carefully peeling back the protective strip.<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"citation-31 citation-end-31\">Replace the legitimate barcode on the gift card packaging with a fake one that links to a card they own.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"citation-30 citation-end-30\">Once a customer buys the tampered card and loads money onto it, the funds are instantly transferred to the scammer&#8217;s account.<\/span> <span class=\"citation-29 citation-end-29\">This is a massive problem that has led to recent arrests, including two men who were reportedly involved in a statewide scheme affecting hundreds of CVS stores in California.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><b>Phone and Online Impersonation:<\/b> <\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>This is the most prevalent type of scam targeting consumers. <span class=\"citation-28 citation-end-28\">Scammers will call, text, or email you and pretend to be from a trusted organization.<\/span> <span class=\"citation-27 citation-end-27\">They create a sense of urgency and demand that you pay with a gift card, often specifying a store like CVS.<\/span> Common impersonations include:\n<ul>\n<li><b>Government Agencies:<\/b><span class=\"citation-26 citation-end-26\"> Scammers claim to be from the IRS, Social Security Administration, or a police department, saying you owe back taxes or fines.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Tech Support:<\/b> They pretend to be from a company like Microsoft or Apple and tell you your computer has a virus that can only be fixed with a gift card payment.<\/li>\n<li><b><span class=\"citation-25\">Family Members:<\/span><\/b><span class=\"citation-25 citation-end-25\"> They impersonate a loved one in an &#8220;emergency&#8221; and beg you to buy gift cards to send them money.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><b><span class=\"citation-24\">Survey and Phishing Scams:<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"citation-24 citation-end-24\">You might receive a fraudulent email or text message that looks like it&#8217;s from CVS.<\/span> <span class=\"citation-23 citation-end-23\">The message will say you&#8217;ve won a free gift card or a prize for taking a survey.<\/span> <span class=\"citation-22 citation-end-22\">The link, however, leads to a fake website designed to steal your personal information or install malware on your device.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3>Also Read : <a href=\"https:\/\/www.seminarsonly.com\/news\/mailer-daemongooglemail-spam-why-is-it-a-scam\/\">mailer-daemon@googlemail Spam | Why is it a Scam?<\/a><\/h3>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #800000;\">How to Protect Yourself<\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><b>Treat Gift Cards Like Cash:<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><b><\/b> If a gift card is lost or stolen, it is very difficult to recover the funds.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><b>Inspect Cards Carefully:<\/b> <\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"citation-21 citation-end-21\">Before you buy, examine the card for any signs of tampering.<\/span> Check for:\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"citation-20 citation-end-20\">Scratches on the PIN or code area on the back.<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Peeling or damaged packaging.<\/li>\n<li>If anything looks suspicious, ask a store associate for a different card.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><b>Never Pay with a Gift Card:<\/b> <\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>This is the most important rule. <b><span class=\"citation-19 citation-end-19\">No legitimate business, government agency, or individual will ever ask you to pay them with a gift card.<\/span><\/b> If anyone makes this demand, it is a scam. Hang up immediately.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><b>Be Skeptical of &#8220;Urgency&#8221;:<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><b><\/b><span class=\"citation-18 citation-end-18\">Scammers use urgency to prevent you from thinking clearly or asking questions.<\/span> Slow down and consider why someone is demanding immediate payment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><b><span class=\"citation-17\">Report Scams:<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"citation-17 citation-end-17\">If you have been a victim, report the scam immediately to the gift card issuer (the company that makes the card) and to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.<\/span> You should also report the crime to your local police.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>CVS and other retailers have been working to combat these scams by putting up warning signs and training their employees to recognize red flags, but the scammers are constantly evolving their methods. The best defense is to be aware of the warning signs and to trust your instincts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The CVS gift card scam refers to a large-scale &#8220;gift card draining&#8221; fraud operation recently busted in California, where criminals manipulated CVS gift cards to steal their funds.\u00a0 The suspects&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6067],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-95155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-scam"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.2 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>CVS Gift Card Scam | Gift Card Draining\/Tampering - Seminarsonly.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The CVS gift card scam refers to a large-scale &quot;gift card draining&quot; fraud operation recently busted in California, where criminals manipulated CVS gift cards to steal their funds.\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/cvs-gift-card-scam-gift-card-draining-tampering\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"CVS Gift Card Scam | Gift Card Draining\/Tampering\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The CVS gift card scam refers to a large-scale &quot;gift card draining&quot; fraud operation recently busted in California, where criminals manipulated CVS gift cards to steal their funds.\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/cvs-gift-card-scam-gift-card-draining-tampering\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Seminarsonly.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/seminarsonly\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-18T07:01:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-18T07:15:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Freddy John\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@seminarsonly\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@seminarsonly\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Freddy John\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/cvs-gift-card-scam-gift-card-draining-tampering\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/cvs-gift-card-scam-gift-card-draining-tampering\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Freddy John\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/75cf706896b7210fb0a84651adc258bd\"},\"headline\":\"CVS Gift Card Scam | Gift Card Draining\/Tampering\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-18T07:01:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-18T07:15:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/cvs-gift-card-scam-gift-card-draining-tampering\/\"},\"wordCount\":691,\"commentCount\":0,\"articleSection\":[\"Scam\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/cvs-gift-card-scam-gift-card-draining-tampering\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/cvs-gift-card-scam-gift-card-draining-tampering\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/cvs-gift-card-scam-gift-card-draining-tampering\/\",\"name\":\"CVS Gift Card Scam | Gift Card Draining\/Tampering - 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