FEDS WARN IDAHO: This Is A “Flawless” Holiday Scam

When it comes to holiday shopping, it can be a real challenge to find that "perfect gift."

Even if you've known the person for a long time, you might still encounter an issue of figuring it out. You know what they already have, how they feel about certain styles, etc.

It almost becomes an issue of overthinking before you say: "I'll just get a gift card... they'll know what to do with that."

It's not that easy though...

The holiday season is one of the most popular times of year for scammers to take advantage of shoppers. Recently, we talked about the dangers of "shoulder surfing" and how this could impact you in broad daylight.

READ MORE: WATCH OUT! "Shoulder Surfing" Is Taking Over Idaho

Now, police and the FBI want to remind us all that gift cards are a prime target this time of year and thieves are targeting them before they get to the cash register.

The scam is known as "card draining" and according to police, "involves thieves removing a gift card from store shelves and carefully procuring the card's information before returning it to the rack."

So, there's a chance that the money you're putting into a gift card will go straight to a scammer because they already have the information tucked away.

Oh, but wait! It gets worse.

The FBI says that thieves are taking things a step further by placing fake barcodes on the back of gift cards. According to the FBI, "When you purchase the card, the cashier scans the fake barcode at the checkout, which quietly pushes your money into the scammer’s gift card account, leaving you with a zero balance."

As if we didn't have enough to worry about, we now have what some experts believe to be a "flawless" scam that could go undetected if you're not careful. Just think about how much time passes from the point of purchase to the time the gift recipient actually uses the card - it could be months and by then the thief will have had plenty of time to cover their tracks.

Sure, one gift card getting ripped off isn't thousands of dollars but it adds up and can affect so many people with some relying on that money during the season.

The Feds say that if you've been affected by this scam, you can report it here.