Kevin Wilson was thrilled when, as part of a Black Friday promotional deal, he got two Walmart gift cards totalling $700.
But when he went to a Walmart near his home in Surrey, B.C., this month to use his cards, Wilson was dismayed to discover they’d been drained — leaving him with a balance of just 27 cents.
According to transaction records, one card’s cash was spent at a Walmart in Richmond, B.C., and the other, at a Walmart in Mississauga, Ont. — far across the country.
“I was in shock. The cards hadn’t left my possession,” said Wilson. He added that the cards showed no signs of being tampered with.
“It was just like utter disbelief. How is this possible?”
Toronto-based cybersecurity analyst Ritesh Kotak says gift cards are attractive to fraudsters because they’re not registered in anyone’s name, and they’re easily accessible in stores. (Doug Husby/CBC)
Toronto-based cybersecurity analyst Ritesh Kotak says gift cards are attractive to fraudsters because they’re not registered in anyone’s name, and they’re easily accessible in stores.
“Unfortunately, people are getting scammed,” he said. “These fraudsters are becoming even more sneaky and sophisticated.”
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre said that between January. to September, it had received more than 1,000 complaints from victims of gift and prepaid card fraud, totalling upward of $3 million in losses.
Kotak said those numbers will likely rise over the holidays, because the cards are a popular gift item.
“People are going to be victimized, but they’re not going to find out until after the holiday season when they try to use those gift cards.”
‘The light bulb went off’
After he got scammed, Wilson took it upon himself to investigate.
He said when he received his gift cards, he was so pleased that he briefly posted a photo of them on Facebook. The bar codes were visible in the photo, but Wilson didn’t think that was a problem, because the security code on each card was hidden.
But after doing some sleuthing, Wilson realized that his photo may have enabled fraudsters to access his cards. That’s because a shopper can make purchases at self-checkout with a Walmart gift card simply by scanning its bar code — or a photo of the bar code.
“The light bulb went off,” said Wilson. “There was a Eureka moment and I’m like, ‘No way, it couldn’t be that easy.'”
CBC News was able to make a purchase at Walmart’s self-checkout by loading a Walmart gift card with cash and then scanning a photo of its barcode. The security code on the back of the card was not required. (Sophia Harris/CBC)
As an experiment, CBC News loaded $5 on a Walmart gift card and attempted to purchase a $3 bag of walnuts at self-checkout by scanning a photo of the card’s bar code. The transaction went through, and the receipt showed the card’s remaining balance.
Walmart’s gift cards are worthless until customers load them with cash. Once loaded, the company requires shoppers to input a card’s hidden security code when using it to make purchases online, but not at self-checkout.
Wilson says a fraudster could easily take photos of a bunch of the cards’ bar codes at Walmart, and then try to buy goods with them at self-checkout at a later date — in the hopes the cards have since been loaded with cash.
“It’s sort of, like, egregious,” he said. “All the cards in Walmart are on bulk display. The bar codes are in plain sight.”
Scammers finding new ways to steal your gift card money
Scammers are finding new ways to deplete money from gift cards ahead of the holidays. Victims of these scams share their stories as cautionary tales. while experts offer tips for how to protect yourself from fraud.
Walmart Canada spokesperson Stephanie Fusco told CBC News that the retailer is investigating Wilson’s case and will reimburse him the missing $700 if it determines he’s a victim of fraud.
Fusco said Walmart has implemented measures to help protect customers from gift card scams, including signs in stores warning them not to share the information on their cards.
Another gift card scam
Nichelle Laus of Mississauga, Ont., almost fell for a different gift card scam. The former Ontario police officer posted her story on social media as a warning to others.
“It drives me crazy to have people victimized this way, especially during the holiday,” said Laus.
Her saga began in October when she tried to buy a $50 Winners gift card at Shoppers Drug Mart. She said the cashier felt the back of the card and informed Laus a fraudster had placed a sticker of another gift card’s bar code overtop of the Winners card’s bar code.
Nichelle Laus discovered this gift card at Shoppers Drug Mart where the barcode on the back had been covered up by a sticker with a different barcode. (Sue Goodspeed/CBC)
Laus said the cashier then scanned the new bar code, which showed it belonged to an Esso gift card.
She said the cashier explained that if Laus had loaded $50 onto the Winners card, it would have wound up instead on a fraudster’s Esso card.
“The cashier was telling me it’s a big problem,” said Laus. “Had she not noticed — and I wouldn’t have noticed, I would have literally paid 50 bucks, gone away with my card, and it would literally be of no value.”
Earlier this month, Laus encountered the same scam when selecting a $100 Playstation gift card at another Shoppers. This time, it turned out the bar code placed over the original one belonged to a card for the LCBO, Ontario’s liquor stores.
“Had the transaction gone through, I would have loaded $100 on [the LCBO card],” she said.
Loblaw, which owns Shoppers, told CBC News gift card scams are widespread and that its employees are trained to recognize the fraud, including bar code tampering.
Cybersecurity analyst Kotak said that for a few hundred dollars, scammers can easily acquire the necessary software, printer and labels to replicate bar codes.
“If you’re putting these labels on hundreds of gift cards across the country, you’ll be able to recoup your investment very quickly,” he said.
To protect people from gift card fraud, both Kotak and Laus recommend retailers keep the cards behind the counter, so fraudsters can’t tamper with them.
TORONTO – Roots Corp. may have built its brand on all things comfy and cosy, but its CEO says activewear is now “really becoming a core part” of the brand.
The category, which at Roots spans leggings, tracksuits, sports bras and bike shorts, has seen such sustained double-digit growth that Meghan Roach plans to make it a key part of the business’ future.
“It’s an area … you will see us continue to expand upon,” she told analysts on a Friday call.
The Toronto-based retailer’s push into activewear has taken shape over many years and included several turns as the official designer and supplier of Team Canada’s Olympic uniform.
But consumers have had plenty of choice when it comes to workout gear and other apparel suited to their sporting needs. On top of the slew of athletic brands like Nike and Adidas, shoppers have also gravitated toward Lululemon Athletica Inc., Alo and Vuori, ramping up competition in the activewear category.
Roach feels Roots’ toehold in the category stems from the fit, feel and following its merchandise has cultivated.
“Our product really resonates with (shoppers) because you can wear it through multiple different use cases and occasions,” she said.
“We’ve been seeing customers come back again and again for some of these core products in our activewear collection.”
Her remarks came the same day as Roots revealed it lost $5.2 million in its latest quarter compared with a loss of $5.3 million in the same quarter last year.
The company said the second-quarter loss amounted to 13 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Aug. 3, the same as a year earlier.
In presenting the results, Roach reminded analysts that the first half of the year is usually “seasonally small,” representing just 30 per cent of the company’s annual sales.
Sales for the second quarter totalled $47.7 million, down from $49.4 million in the same quarter last year.
The move lower came as direct-to-consumer sales amounted to $36.4 million, down from $37.1 million a year earlier, as comparable sales edged down 0.2 per cent.
The numbers reflect the fact that Roots continued to grapple with inventory challenges in the company’s Cooper fleece line that first cropped up in its previous quarter.
Roots recently began to use artificial intelligence to assist with daily inventory replenishments and said more tools helping with allocation will go live in the next quarter.
Beyond that time period, the company intends to keep exploring AI and renovate more of its stores.
It will also re-evaluate its design ranks.
Roots announced Friday that chief product officer Karuna Scheinfeld has stepped down.
Rather than fill the role, the company plans to hire senior level design talent with international experience in the outdoor and activewear sectors who will take on tasks previously done by the chief product officer.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, are set to resume today as a strike that has stopped most services drags into a second week.
No timeline has been set for the length of the negotiations, but Joe McCann, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they are willing to stay there as long as it takes, even if talks drag on all night.
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people unable to navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last Tuesday, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
Hundreds of drivers rallied outside TransLink’s head office earlier this week, calling for the transportation provider to intervene in the dispute with Transdev, which was contracted to oversee HandyDART service.
Transdev said earlier this week that it will provide a reply to the union’s latest proposal on Thursday.
A statement from the company said it “strongly believes” that their employees deserve fair wages, and that a fair contract “must balance the needs of their employees, clients and taxpayers.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – Travel company Transat AT Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter compared with a profit a year earlier as its revenue edged lower.
The parent company of Air Transat says it lost $39.9 million or $1.03 per diluted share in its quarter ended July 31.
The result compared with a profit of $57.3 million or $1.49 per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue in what was the company’s third quarter totalled $736.2 million, down from $746.3 million in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Transat says it lost $1.10 per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of $1.10 per share a year earlier.
Transat chief executive Annick Guérard says demand for leisure travel remains healthy, as evidenced by higher traffic, but consumers are increasingly price conscious given the current economic uncertainty.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
