freeamfva: He bought $500 of Apple gift cards at Target

freeamfva

He bought $500 of Apple gift cards at Target


This time last year, Mike Blum took advantage of a promotion at Target: Buy $100 worth of Apple gift cards and get a $20 Target gift card for free.He was planning to buy a new iPhone and figured it was a way to save some money with the bonus Target cards.To get more news about 抖音充值, you can visit nnxwheels.com official website.

“I had an ailing iPhone 6S, and since it wasn’t going to be a viable trade-in, I knew I was eventually going to have to buy a new phone at full price, which, you know... iPhones are a lot of money. It’s a big purchase for me,” Blum said. “This seemed like a good way to cut down on the cost a bit.”Blum didn’t know it at the time, but the $500 of the Apple cards — 10 cards worth $50 each — were compromised before he even left the Target parking lot. The balances were zero.

Both Apple and Target lay blame at the other’s feet, and I, like so many others for years, have suffered the loss and are victims of this fraud, with no responsibility taken, and no changes made,” Blum said.

A quick search online shows thousands of posts from customers with similar experiences. There’s even a class action lawsuit against Target, filed in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, in which more than two dozen customers allege that Target didn’t take “adequate and reasonable measures to ensure that scammers did not tamper with the gift cards.”

A year after he bought the cards, Blum’s efforts to get Target or Apple to make things right had gone nowhere. In the meantime, Blum said he’s frustrated to see retailers offer similar Apple gift card promotions this holiday season, and Blum wants to warn unsuspecting consumers.

Blum didn’t know his cards were compromised until months after he made the purchase. He waited to use the cards because he wasn’t sure which iPhone he wanted. Time passed and Apple announced the iPhone 13, so Blum decided to wait for the new model, which was available for pre-orders on September 17.To say I was beyond excited to finally get this phone would be an understatement. I had my money ready to go. Or at least I thought I did,” he said.

The night before the pre-order, Blum said, he took one of the cards out of its packaging and scanned the 16-digit security number into his Apple account. He got a dreaded message: “Error: This code has already been redeemed.”

“Then I did the same with a second card. Same message. Then the third. Same message,” Blum said. “Now I’m getting a little freaked out. And very concerned.”

He said he stopped opening the cards and called Apple. A representative confirmed that all 10 cards were empty. In fact, Apple said it could see the funds were taken off the cards within five to 30 minutes after the cards were activated at Target.“It was made abundantly clear by follow-up calls I received from Apple the next day that there would be no replacement gift cards issued,” Blum said, noting that he was in possession of the cards at all times.