Moore newlyweds scammed with Home Depot gift card, warning others

A newlywed couple in Moore tried to use a Home Depot gift card only to find the balance wiped out overnight, Spencer and Elizabeth Daniels told News 9 on Wednesday.

Spencer and Elizabeth got married last September.

“My mom had purchased us a Home Depot gift card as a wedding gift,” Elizabeth said.

When they went to use it a month later, “They were like, ‘There’s nothing on this card,’ and we were like, ‘That’s weird.’”

Someone had scammed the Daniels out of their $200 wedding gift.

Gift Card Scams on the Rise

“We’ve gotten a lot of calls, and again, unfortunately with this type of crime, there’s not a whole lot you can do,” said Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Aaron Brilbeck. “Trying to track down the person who stole these cards is almost impossible because there are so many different ways they can obtain this information.”

The Sheriff’s Office said scammers often target gift cards by recording the card numbers.

“Simple solution for that. Every time that you're going to buy one of these cards, make sure you flip it over and you check. If that number has been scratched off, don't buy that card,” Brilbeck advised.

Tips to Avoid Scams

OCSO encouraged shoppers to purchase gift cards from behind the counter when possible.

“That way, you know they haven’t been tampered with,” Brilbeck said.

Another method scammers use, Brilbeck said, is through bots.

“Over the course of one or two minutes, they can run through thousands and thousands of number combinations until they find the right number on the front of the card and the back of the card. Then, you know, they've stolen that card,” OSCO explained.

Although Home Depot replaced the Daniels’ gift card, Elizabeth said she wanted to raise awareness.

“I was mostly just wanting to warn others because they told us every time we went there, this is happening all the time — tons of people coming in and complaining about this,” she said.

The Sheriff’s Office suggested giving cash or e-gift cards as potentially safer alternatives to buying gift cards in-store.