How do I stop stolen gift cards from being used?

Activate cards only at the point of sale, so blank or stolen cards hold no value until a legitimate purchase activates them.

Will fraud controls frustrate my customers?

No, when implemented well. Activation, secure codes and monitoring run behind the scenes; genuine buyers simply purchase and redeem as normal.

Gift Cards & Loyalty

Reducing Gift Card Fraud Without Annoying Customers

Gift cards attract scammers. A few controls stop most fraud while real customers never notice.

Armour Payments Editorial Team•September 30, 2026•1 min read•Reviewed by Armour Payments Product Team

The short answer

Reduce gift card fraud with activation-at-purchase, secure unique codes, balance-check controls, purchase limits on bulk buys, and monitoring for unusual activity. Layer these so fraud drops while legitimate buyers experience no friction.

Activate at purchase only

Cards should carry no value until activated at the point of sale. That makes stolen blank cards worthless and is the single most important control for physical gift card programs.

Protect codes and balances

Use long, unique, hard-to-guess card numbers and protect balance-check endpoints from automated guessing. Scammers script balance checks to find active cards, rate limiting and PINs shut that down.

Limit risky behaviour

Set limits on large bulk purchases and watch for unusual patterns, since fraudsters often buy or drain cards in volume. For online gift card sales, apply the same card-not-present fraud tools you use elsewhere.

Keep it invisible to customers

Done right, these controls are silent for genuine buyers, they simply buy, activate and redeem. Armour Payments builds these protections into its programs. See pricing or book a demo.