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Walmart now faces a gift card scam class action alleging that the massive retail company refuses to compensate consumers after criminals use and return gift cards.
Plaintiff Debbie McCoy recently filed a class action lawsuit against Walmart Inc., and other related entities, claiming that the company participates in a widespread gift card scam by refusing to compensate their customers after criminals steal gift card information and use the funds.
This practice reportedly leaves consumers like McCoy with unusable gift cards.
On Dec. 15, 2017, McCoy says she purchased two $25 gift cards for her niece and nephew for Christmas. However, when she gave her niece the gift cards for Christmas, she discovered that the balance had been used on Dec. 17 by a third party.
Her nephew attempted to check the balance after this discovery to find that Walmart had deactivated his card. McCoy claims that the balances were used by criminals who stole the gift card information off of the gift cards while they were hanging on the rack, causing her to sustain financial losses of $50 in addition to emotional distress and embarrassment from giving unusable gift cards as gifts.
The Walmart gift card class action lawsuit argues that criminals can remove the security tape off the back of a gift card, copy the information, and replace the security tape with another product. Security tape is allegedly readily available for purchase at many online retailers including Amazon. Additionally, gift cards on the rack are easy to manipulate, steal, and replace for unsuspecting consumers such as McCoy to purchase.
Despite the ease with which third parties can steal vital gift card information, Walmart allegedly does not compensate consumers when they fall victim to fraudulent behaviors. The Walmart class action claims the company also refuses to take steps to prevent fraud and gift card scams by securing their gift cards and checking for signs of manipulation at the time of purchase.
“Defendant owed a duty to Plaintiff and the putative Class to ensure that the gift cards sold were original, without signs of manipulations, and otherwise were able to be used by those who received them,” the Walmart gift card scam class action claims. “Defendant breached that duty failing to exercise reasonable care and failing to act in a way that revealed the defects, signs of manipulation, and otherwise failing to reasonably inspect the gift cards at time of check out.”
According to plaintiff counsel, Visa and other gift card companies have started selling their products in bundles to avoid fraudulent criminal behavior and gift card scam. “It’s a shame Walmart hasn’t done the same thing,” plaintiff’s counsel told USA Today.
McCoy seeks to represent a Class of consumers who purchased a gift card from Walmart and had the funds stolen by a third party. The Walmart gift card scam class action lawsuit seeks actual damages exceeding $1,000, restitution, punitive damages, court costs, and attorneys’ fees.
The plaintiff is represented by Craig R. Heidemann of Douglas Haun & Heidemann PC.
The Walmart Gift Card Scam Class Action Lawsuit is McCoy v. Wal-Mart Stores East LP, et al., Case No. 6:18-cv-03256, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.
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178 thoughts onWalmart Class Action Lawsuit Alleges Gift Card Scam
I went to Walmart and bought a visa card they saying it was already activated and they will not give me my money back. It ain’t been $60 but I’m on disability that $60 is a lot to me
My son purchased two $200 gift cards for us at Christmas. When we tried to use them, we were informed that the cards had ZERO Balance. Walmart adamantly refuses to refund or retore the money. The cards were in our possession all the time and were not stolen. Walmart had not protected the cards from fraud. The cards could have been comprised anytime in Walmart’s supply chain. They owe me $400. We have all the receipts.
I too was scam by phishing highly technical Indian speaking people stated to shut my computer down that my PC was compromised and money is being taken out of my account, they posed as TD bank representatives. They informed me to get gift cards from Walmart for $1,000 I was scared I did as I was instructed this thinking this was legit. This recently happened I also got two vanilla visa cards total $1,000 this recently happened May25 2023. I have a police report. Deceives are from financial fraud unit. I was taken for $2,000 in total.
I too purchased a Walmart card for my grandson and it had already been used by the time I gave it to him.
I brought gift cards from Walmart many of times for friends and family and I was told that the re is no money on the card but it’s been years ago how con I get proof?
I purchased 4 gifts cards from Walmart on December 19, 2022. Theae cards were in the amount of $100 each and they were for my four youngest grandchildren. I learned on January 11, 2023 these cards had no value and thra money on each card had already been spent. I have return to Walmart 3 times and no one has tried to help me retread ny monies I have contacted the Better Business Bureau regarding this matter. Walmart policy regarding this matter is the worse . These fraudulent cards are sold in Walmart, yet they are not honoring the product once it is purchase. 1
I gifted a $200 card to my acquaintance’s son’s wedding, but there is a content that said that the card did not contain money.
Walmart says the card I bought is different from the card I got back from my acquaintance’s son.
The credit card company told me to solve it at the Walmart store, but I visited 6 times and it was not resolved.Unfortunately there is no envelope containing the card when buying the card
Add me! I bought a bunch of gift cards for Christmas. All of them were good except my daughters someone used it in another state the same day she received it. It was for $60. I have the receipt and I’m going to have her send me the card back! This is outrageous! They say its scamers? It might be, but it might be Walmart who knows their not trying to make it right with anyone!! If I knew they weren’t safe I would have never got them! It’s not like I have $60 extra dollars to throw away!!
I don’t have credit cards, so when I need to pay for something that only allows credit cards, I buy one from a grocery store or in this instance Walmart.
It was an emergency when I put $204.94 on a Walmart Visa Debit card supported by Green Dot.
I went home and immediately tried to make the purchase.
My purchase was denied.
I read on the receipt to call the number on the back of the card.
I called, sent a photo of the front/back of the card along with the receipt.
They said they would send a check within 2 weeks after the “investigation”.
I called about a week later to see how things were moving along.
They said they closed the account. What?
That they never received the emailed photos and therefor closed the case.
I have proof of it being sent to the correct address, but non-less started a new case.
The same thing.
Mind you, I borrowed another $200 from a friend to buy another gift card from Publix Grocery Store where I never had any such problems in the past.
I promised to return the money to my friend when the Walmart check arrived.
Again the case was closed without any communication to me.
I was told to call Green Dot Bank.
They said sorry a gift card is the same as cash and we will not refund you.
Then I called Walmart Corporate, the same bullshit.
I am livid.
$200 to a person who is currently unemployed is an enormous amount of money.
For food, or gas, or electric bill.
On the back of the card it says to call this number in case your card is lost or stolen.
This is fraud.
I purchased the card in good faith in the midst of an emergancy situation and am not even being offered a Walmart Gift Card that can only be used at Walmart.
That would be a reasonable solution.
It doesn’t solve that fact that I purchased the card to be used “anywhere in the USA,”
but I could buy food or other necessities.
I would like to join a class action and also plan communicating with local and national media who have already shown a great deal of interest.
The more stories relating to Walmart and Green Dot that I am discovering the better we stand together.
I found that this has been going on for nearly a decade
to innocent customers and neither Walmart or Green Dot are prepared or care to do a damn thing about it.