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France-based Oberthur Technologies S.A. has introduced a new form of gift card packaging designed to prevent fraud. The packaging features a magnetic stripe or bar code, or both, that enables clerks to activate the card at the point of sale. The package prevents fraud by concealing the key numbers from potential criminals until the package is torn open, Garfield Smith, Oberthur vice president of marketing, tells CardLine Global. Criminals commonly commit fraud by stealing packages from stores, opening them up, copying down the key numbers on the cards and then replacing them on the racks at the store. Criminals then monitor the card numbers online, and once value is added, use the numbers they have copied to make online purchases, Smith says. When the legitimate buyer of the card tries to use it, the buyer finds the package empty, Smith says. The smart-pouch design prevents the package from being resealed in a way that is invisible to the customer, he says. Oberthur customers told the company they had concerns about this type of fraud and also about retailers moving gift cards to customer-service counters where consumers needed to ask for them specifically. Moving cards behind counters reduces impulse buys and the appeal of cards designed for such special occasions as birthdays and anniversaries because customers do not see them on the rack, Smith says.
