WARREN, Mich. (WXYZ) — Metro Detroiters are cautioned to be on guard for gift card scams.
A purchase meant to spread joy has only brought Wendy Hobert grief. The Sterling Heights woman showed 7 News Detroit documentation illustrating a total of $650 worth of gift card purchases.
That includes $550 worth of Amazon gift cards she bought on Dec. 11, as Christmas gifts for loved ones.
“They’re all saying that they’re all no good, that they’ve been hacked. We were like what the heck," Hobert said.
She said two other separate $50 gift card purchases — Amazon and Visa — were also tampered with.
To try and get a resolution, Hobert said she talked to Meijer customer service where she bought the cards at the 12 Mile and Mound roads location in Warren.
“(An employee) said, 'There’s nothing we can do,'" she recalled.
Despite disputing the transactions with her bank, she got a denial letter that put the responsibility on her as the consumer.
Hobert read: "'You had the opportunity to inspect the merchandise.' I mean, it looked normal to me. So, they said ‘no.’”
She filed a police report with Warren police.
“And the police, he said this is very common," Hobert recalled.
Who did this to Hobert is still unclear, but the Michigan Attorney General’s Office reported making two arrests in other similar cases recently.
Two Chinese nationals are accused of stealing gift cards from several metro Deroit Meijers. The Warren location isn’t on that list.
However, the men allegedly stole key information from the cards in elaborate scheme.
Attorney General Dana Nessel explained in a video posted by her office, “The stolen cards are tampered with and their pin numbers are revealed written down, tracked and the scammers cover up their tracks with some other adhesive blocking so it blocks out the digits.”
You can watch the video below:
She said the thieves return the cards to the store display and then use software to track when money is added to the card.
“These scammers are able to check the balance on these cards over and over again with computer systems and as soon as a shopper puts money onto the card, they’ve moved it onto some other digital account,” Nessel explained.
Hobert said she saw that news.
“And I thought there has to be something I can do and that’s why I went looking for you and emailed you," she said.
When asked what her hope is, Hobert replied, "I’d love to get my money back. I would love to have my money back.”
7 News Detroit called and emailed Meijer corporate and stopped by the Warren Police Department.
“The victim in this case did a lot of things right. The first thing is she did come and let the police department know," Lt. John Gajewski said.
“We look to see if this is part of a trend. If there’s any suspect information, we can work to identify those responsible but as we can all imagine with internet and social media and everything, catching fraudsters or people accused of scamming gift cards is a tall task."
Hear more from Lt. John Gajewski in the video player below:
7 News Detroit gave Meijer Hobert's contact information and within hours, she got the favorable result she's been hoping for.
"(Meijer) is sending me $650," she said excitedly.
Meijer sent this statement to 7 News Detroit:
"The most important thing consumers can do when purchasing gift cards is to examine the physical card and packaging carefully and look for signs of tampering. If a Meijer customer believes they have an issue with a card purchased at one of our stores, they should visit the service desk at their local Meijer or contact us at 1-877-363-4537. This issue affects all retailers, and while the gift card industry has developed stronger anti-fraud measures, they continue to look for new ways to keep cards secure. We’re doing our part by increasing the number of inspections we conduct of gift cards to prevent or identify tampering."
