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Gift card fraud starts with convincing messages

The FBI warned that criminals used phishing and smishing to target U.S. retail corporations for gift card fraud. The incident pattern illustrates how a convincing request can exploit normal business workflows.

This briefing explains a public 2024 advisory. It is not a live incident feed; consult the original source and current vendor guidance for updates.

What the advisory tells us

The FBI described a group targeting employees on personal and work phones, then researching internal gift-card processes after gaining access. It also reported an instance in which attackers changed email addresses on unredeemed gift cards.

What teams can do

Give staff a separate way to verify unusual requests, and teach them how to report suspicious messages. Review approvals for gift-card issuance and account changes.

Read the original advisory

FBI IC3 / federal partners: source advisory (PDF) ↗

The linked advisory is an independent government source. It does not endorse CyberWall or its products.

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