Security problems with store gift cards are widely reported and have been around for at least five years.  As a recent report from StoreFrontBackTalk shows, many store gift cards, including ones from Target and Starbucks, are still allow for the simplest and most insecure of security holes.

This security problem involves someone getting enough information from the gift card on display, such as from a bar code or the numbers actually printed on the card or packaging, so that a thief can clone the card, wait for it to be activated, and then spend the card value before the legitimate customer does.

A general rule of thumb is that if you are able to handle a gift card, so can a thief, so consider the card insecure.  This includes dispaly racks such as GiftCardMall found in Safeway and other stores.  An exception to this rule is open-loop (Visa-type) gift cards, which include secure packaging that prevents this.  In several years of reporting on gift card issues, we have yet to see a problem with open-loop cards in this respect.  An exception would be if the packaging looks to have been tampered with to any degree.