Good morning everyone, a few days ago, I was at a local Ralphs (Kroger) grocery store in Huntington Beach, CA and bought a $500 Visa Gift Card (issued by US Bank). I have bought many Visa gift cards before (including the specific gift card design below) and have not had any problems. Well, my streak has finally come to an end and it was a big pain in the butt to fix.
Shortly after purchasing the gift card (like 5 minutes later), I took the gift card out of the packaging and called the number on the back of the gift card to set the PIN. After entering the 16 digit gift card number and the 3 digit security code, the voice on the phone said I was being transferred to a customer service rep. I hung up and entered the numbers again, thinking that I had miss-typed the numbers. Again, I was transferred to a customer service rep.
The rep was very friendly and he informed me that my gift card number had been compromised. He stated that there were attempts to use the gift card (online I presume) before the gift card was activated. Uh oh, that does not sound good. He gave me a series of steps to follow to send in the appropriate documentation to US Bank:
US Bank Fax Number: 414-341-7600
Send fax to “Attn: Stolen Replacement Card Request”
Send the following items to the above fax number:
Store gift card receipt along with the front and back of the gift card
Cardholder’s name, mailing address, cell phone number, and email address
16 digit gift card number
Optional items to fax: a different gift card mailing address and the front and back of the gift card packaging
To receive a status update, call the number on the back of the gift card (866-952-5653)
After US Bank receives the documentation, they will investigate the issue and send you a new Visa Gift Card to your mailing address. That sounds like such a headache but that was the only way to resolve the issue… or so I thought.
Since I was having breakfast close to Ralphs, I went back in the store and spoke with the store manager. After a few minutes of speaking with the store manager, he immediately knew what to do. He made a call to Kroger Corporate and sent a fax of my gift card, packaging, and store receipt to the rep on the phone. At this point, I have been waiting about 20 minutes and my mom is waiting in the car, texting me. It is Mother’s Day and she would rather be home than waiting in a Ralphs parking lot.
After speaking to the Kroger agent, the store manager called Visa Corporate to file a claim. He shared with me a similar story where someone bought 3 $500 Visa Gift Cards on Christmas Eve and he was on the phone for an hour and a half to fix the issue.
At this point, the store manager went to grab a few new Visa Gift Cards and see if he could transfer the balance of the compromised gift card to a new Visa Gift Card. The first Visa Gift Card was compromised as well. And so were the next 3 Visa Gift Cards. At this point, the assistant store manager grabbed all the variable load Visa Gift Cards off the gift card rack and put them in a drawer behind the counter. I could tell the store manager was getting frustrated and I offered up another suggestion.
Could we try transferring the balance from a US Bank Visa Gift Card to a US Bank MasterCard Gift Card? It sounded plausible (thanks MythBusters) so we gave it a try. I’m not sure who was on the phone at this point, but after a few minutes, the store manager said that the gift card balance was transferred over to the MasterCard Gift Card. Before leaving the customer service counter, I checked online and the $500 transfer posted properly. Success! Finally!
While I was standing at the customer service desk, the store manager and I chatted about gift card fraud. He said that the criminals were running random number generators to discover working combinations of gift card numbers. If that were the case, then the criminals could theoretically hack any US Bank Visa Gift Card from any store anywhere in the country. With that said, I will personally never buy another US Bank Visa Gift Card. The amount of hassle that is required to fix compromised gift cards is just too much. I will stick with Vanilla Visa Gift Cards and Bancorp Gift Cards from office supply stores and pharmacies for now. I thanked the store manager and wished him a pleasant Mother’s Day.
I highly recommend reading this post about gift card packaging: Gift Card Warning: Check Packaging for Signs of Tampering. Always double and triple check every gift card you purchase for signs of tampering. It takes maybe 5-10 seconds and if anything looks out of place, it is better to be safe and find a gift card that looks un-tampered. I also shared my thoughts on why I do not like to MS when I travel: Poll: Do you Manufacture Spend when you Travel? To summarize, here are my gift card buying recommendations:
- Always check the gift card packaging before purchasing any gift card.
- Always check the balance on your gift card as soon as you purchase any gift card.
- Always try to liquidate your gift cards as soon as possible.
- Always save your receipt and gift card packaging until the gift card is liquidated.
- If problems arise, immediately go back to the store where you purchased the gift card.
- Follow up with all gift card issues. You might be out $500-$5,000 for 1-3 months if you do not follow up with the merchant often.
If you have any questions, please leave a comment below. Have a great day everyone!
Grant – nothing has changed in the 6 1/2 years since you posted this. Bought my son a $75 US Bank gift card at Ralphs (Kroger) because granny sent him a $75 check for Christmas. He tried to activate it online, but was frozen out of prepaidgiftcard.com, as was our entire house. Spent 1 hour on the phone, filed CFPB complaint, and we’ll see if we ever get his $75 — after providing personal information that will now be in a USBank database, that they will sell, and profit from. Also, across millions of consumers, these “two week” replacement cards provides USBank millions in interest free loans. The worst part – USBank knows these cards are compromised, as they explained when we called in . . . but they still sell them when they should be pulled off the shelves once compromised or stopped at point of sale. Who else sells faulty products on purpose?
I’m sorry you had to deal with this headache for a $75 gift card. I’m not sure why US Bank continues to sell these unsecured gift cards.
I was locked out of the system in November and I faxed my drivers license to the US bank like three times and called maybe 6 times.
And yes, I am still waiting for reactivation
I’m sorry you are having such a hard time getting your gift card issue resolved. Just keep calling until the issue is fixed and then stay away from those gift cards.
Same situation here and I have yet to be able to reach anyone on the number provided on the card! 888-853-9536. I’m beginning to think the entire things a scam including this bank.
Hi RC, I’m sorry you are having a hard time getting help. Keep trying and maybe reach out on social media. Last resort, go to the store where you bought the GC and see if the store manager can help. Good luck!
I purchased (5) $100 gift cards on 12/16/21 and all of them were used shortly after I purchased them. I gave them to family for Christmas Gifts. It took me about an hour and a half to wait on hold with the 888 number, but I got them all logged as fraudulent charges. They will only let you call in two cards at a time so that took some time. I also filed a police report. I went back into Ralphs at Golden West and Garfield in Huntington Beach and they could care less. I hope to get my money back soon.
Hi Susan, I am sorry the gift cards you purchased as Christmas gifts were used fraudulently. I hope you get all your money back soon and stay away from those gift cards in the future.
I had the same issue calling 888-853-9536. calling from my landline phone number i was not able to reach the automated phone system. I called from my cell phone and then I was able to change the PIN on the card.
lets all get together and start a class action law suit against them, then maybe they will stop cheating us
Yes, seriously!
Bought a card 04/28/23 & now on 07/27/23 I am still getting the run around. Was told a new card was sent, but never received a thing. They kept saying a month later, just keep checking the mail. Called again & now they say the Post Office returned it saying, no such resident. A bunch of bull if u ask me. As a single parent on disability, this infuriates me because $100 is $100 I need for the kid’s school clothes at this point.
I’m sure I’ll never see my $100 & will never advise anyone to buy these cards. :(. So I’m all for a class action.
I would like to join the lawsuit. I’m another victim, same company and same number. $200 completely scammed out of and I really need that money back or it’s going to cause late fees and additional stress. If we don’t sue them then who will be responsible for this?
Hi Rick, if possible, go back to the store where you bought the GC and see if the manager can help you.
No help from the store manager (Kroger) in RVA. I’m up for a class action suit. I think I’m around $900 scammed. I’ve put off dealing with it for the past three years.
File a complaint with US Consumer Financial Protection Board. Worked for me but took months for them to process.
Hi Rick and (also Grant)
I filed a class action lawsuit against Ralphs and Kroger related to gift card issues discussed here entitled Hiradate v. Ralphs Grocery Company and the Kroger Company, which is currently pending in federal district court in Los Angeles. If you would like more information, please feel free to reach out to me.
Thank you,
Hi Yosuke, wow, that’s awesome. Glad you took the time to pursue this issue. I googled the case and found it here: https://dockets.justia.com/docket/california/cacdce/2:2022cv03593/853145
Best of luck!
info plz
Had 6 $100 gift cards that I had purchased over about a year and a half. Three had roughly a $2 balance by the time I got around to using them and one was cleaned out. The other three I used very shortly after I purchased them and they were still good.
On the cards with the stolen balances, went to Prepaidgiftcardbalance and was greeted with, after entering the card numbers, someone else’s name, obviously a screen name and could not access any further information. “Welcome cardholder Milcah” was one.
Called the number on back of the card and got some Pakistani guy with a thick accent that I couldn’t understand. Explained the situation to him. He got pissed and rattled off something, followed by “Goodbye” and a click.
Well, the $300 is gone. I will never ever buy them again. If there’s any consolation it’s the fact that it happened to me and not someone who could barely afford it, although I’m sure more than a few of them have gotten taken too. I’m not going to support any more thieves.
Hi Jeff, I’m very sorry that this happened to you. If you still have the receipt, go back to the store where you bought the GCs and talk to the store manager. He might have a better phone number for you or be able to help with the issue. I hope you can get your money back.
File a complaint with federal consumer financial protection bureau. It took about 2 months but I got my $ back. Sorry, I no longer have contact info, but google it.
Hi Rick, that’s a good idea. Glad you got your money back.
I have 2 gift cards that do not work from kroger. I was told to call the store and have them take the card information out of system. I am like really. They could care less if they fix the cards. We have to pay to have them replaced. Sure seems like nothing but bank scamming everything they can get out of the working people.
Hi Gregory, I’m sorry you got caught up in this ongoing gift card scam. Read through the comments on this post to see if there is a phone number to call to get this ordeal resolved.
Gregory, to clarify my post of 6/23/22, file a complaint against the issuing bank (Meta or whoever), provide documentation & copies of cards, receipts, etc to FCFPB. Your case will be decided by them, not Kroger. Worked for me. Good luck!
Thanks Rick!
Hey guys, I filed a class action lawsuit against Ralphs and Kroger related to gift card issues discussed here entitled: Hiradate v. Ralphs Grocery Company and the Kroger Company, which is currently pending in federal district court in Los Angeles. You can find information about it online and also feel free to reach out about it. Let me know if there are any questions
Yosuke. I read about your suit online. When or has the judge ruled on it? I had 4 gift cards hacked a couple of days ago. This is one strange bank to know this about their cards and continue doing the same procedure. It must be the interest free loan part. They have actually gotten better on the answering the phone issue.
Hi there,
You so much for posting this because I was beginning to think I was the only one or that I was crazy. I actually contacted the US bank and they said the amount of the gift card was $50 but I got scammed by the actual REP- who went on to deactivate my card without my consent. I called back and I guess they had my number saved? or the IP address saved? or when you type of the gift card and it transfers you maybe they can see it? I’m not sure.
But anyway, So every time I called within the same hour, the same lady would hang up on me, and even what I want to propose that I had requested it be deactivated, when I never did. even when I called once she had faked that I had reached a “voicemail” where I heard her voice saying they were closed and to leave a message where I was disconnected- despite the fact the automated system before that clearly says you complete a survey after about your experience, so I was directed to that survey and not a voicemail.
then different reps hung up on me immediately, one took my personal information, promised to send me a new card and a year later I still have no card. It was just $50. But disheartening.
I just purchased a gift card today. I purchased the MasterCard this time since the visa gave me trouble. I am terrified to do anything online, so I am physically going to go in the store (since the card works fine in the store as the instructions say) instead of registering it online, and risking running into a similar issue. Wish me luck :(