Retailers are struggling to rein in gift card scammers.
Americans lost at least $217 million to gift card scams last year, the Federal Trade Commission says — and many victims are too embarrassed to report being targeted.
Some gift card scams start with texts from people pretending to be tech support, your boss or a government agent.
Eventually, scammers will ask you to buy gift cards on their behalf and text them the barcode number.
The big picture: Gift cards, like cryptocurrencies, give scammers easy access to difficult-to-trace money.
Because most gift cards are offered through third parties, it's hard for retailers to tell how and where the money was spent.
