Police warn public about trending gift card scam happening in Volusia County

PORT ORANGE, Fla. - Port Orange police are warning the public about a local trending gift card scam. 

According to a Twitter post, the culprits are placing stickers inside the gift card packaging with a different barcode than the card inside. 

When the gift card becomes activated at the register, the money is placed on the culprit's gift card, not the one purchased by the customer. 

Credit: Port Orange Police Department

Police are urging anyone who plans to purchase a gift card to double-check the barcodes to be sure the serial number on the packaging for the real card matches the serial number on the card itself. 

A fake gift card would have mismatched serial numbers.