The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) has recently received several complaints from consumers after they discovered their newly purchased, unused gift cards did not contain any funds. Many consumers reported that despite there being no evidence of tampering on the cards or packaging, they contained zero balance before ever being used. Some consumers reported their gift cards being depleted within 20 minutes of activation.

Technology, such as bots, may be behind this fraud as there is a short window of time between gift card purchase and the depleti...