NEW Disney Gift Card Deals and More.

[Doingitagain]

Anyone figured out how to access the Google Play store without an Android device?

do you have to access the google play store via android to use the gift card purchase option?

I'm trying on a web browser and can't seem to replicate that.

We were able to load Google Play on Amazon fire tablet to load apps. Haven’t tried to buy gift cards with it, though.

 

[Doingitagain]

24 hours passed and I was able to do four more Google Play $200 cards at 10% off.

 

[bbsearchlight]

That's crazy! Are you going to file the police report? I would and I'd throw in an FTC complaint and a complaint to the FL AG just to have an outlet to vent. Doubt you'll shake anything out of course but who knows? It's crazy that Disney isn't willing to even investigate your complaint of fraud after you informed them and offered proof of ownership of the card!

I don't know enough about wifi and app security to speak to the public wifi thought (I avoid public wifi like the plague when possible). There is one spot we missed- someone getting a pic of your gift card when it was pulled up on your phone. Practically everyone has a phone in their hands when standing in a line, even at Disney. A discreet pic wouldn't be hard. In my Apple wallet the barcode and acct number are visible as well as the EAN in the upper left and the screen lights up nice and bright... yeah, I think it's definitely possible to snap a pic of someone's digital gc from an apple wallet if you're next to them in a line. I'm going to be sticking to physical gc in parks from now on. I've always been wary of someone getting a pic of my physical card making sure never to hold it with the numbers displayed out while in line but I had never thoroughly thought through the logistics of taking a pic of the e- version- it would be much easier.

Just took a little time playing with the theory by grabbing a pic of a DGC on my apple wallet using another person's older model SE phone. Arms length away side shot and it was a good enough image for all the data. Lovely. No more using these in park for me.

It did not go well

Link to my original post about stolen gift card funds for context:
https://www.disboards.com/threads/new-disney-gift-card-deals-and-more.3952573/post-66474108

Support is not responsible for any unauthorized use of your DGC and no transaction can be disputed, even with providing the original activation receipt. Upon asking Support to escalate the issue, they said they would only open an investigation when contacted by law enforcement after I filed a police report.

I purchased the e-gift card in November directly from Disney Store online in preparation for our trip. It exists only in two locations: scannable from my iPhone's wallet and in a locked note on my phone for copying/pasting into the WDW app. Both are behind Face ID, 2-factor authentication, etc. The gift card is not in my e-mail (also behind 2-factor), it is not in my Disney Gift Card online account (also behind 2-factor).

I am honestly in shock. I understand that gift cards are treated like cash and I've taken every security measure possible to keep this information safe. The transaction is "WDW Merchandise Mobile Checkout". Someone used my gift card number to make purchases on property using their Disney account in their WDW app and Disney cannot help.

My only guess is this was the first trip I used WDW's public wifi network in the parks, which I was connected to when placing mobile orders. Never again.

I'm not sure what else to do other than to strongly caution everyone.

Only if your "outlet to vent" includes wasting your time, wasting the time of the ftc, and wasting the time of the Florida AG. In no way is anyone alleging or showing any evidence that Disney was at fault here.

It sounds like most probably a wifi swoop was done here, which is when criminals set up a fake wifi network that looks almost identical to the Disney wifi network. So if the disney wifi network is called "Disney Resorts and Parks" the fake wifi network might be called "Disney Resorts & Parks". Almost no one would notice the difference. Your phone usually lists the wifi network with the strongest signal first, so the fraudster was probably close by and their wifi signal was probably stronger.

Whenever I do anything that involves putting a credit card number (or gift card number) or signing into any account with a password, I always turn wifi off. Once you finish putting in the password and are logged in, you can turn wifi back on (again, as long as you are not putting in a any sensitive information like a credit card number.)

No matter how many precautions we all take with gift cards, it is never going to be 100% foolproof as the thieves come up with new ways every day and law enforcement is always playing catch up. It is a small risk we all take when buying gift cards, because a credit card you always have chargeback protection.

 

[Twilghtsprkle]

Only if your "outlet to vent" includes wasting your time, wasting the time of the ftc, and wasting the time of the Florida AG. In no way is anyone alleging or showing any evidence that Disney was at fault here.

It sounds like most probably a wifi swoop was done here, which is when criminals set up a fake wifi network that looks almost identical to the Disney wifi network. So if the disney wifi network is called "Disney Resorts and Parks" the fake wifi network might be called "Disney Resorts & Parks". Almost no one would notice the difference. Your phone usually lists the wifi network with the strongest signal first, so the fraudster was probably close by and their wifi signal was probably stronger.

Whenever I do anything that involves putting a credit card number (or gift card number) or signing into any account with a password, I always turn wifi off. Once you finish putting in the password and are logged in, you can turn wifi back on (again, as long as you are not putting in a any sensitive information like a credit card number.)

No matter how many precautions we all take with gift cards, it is never going to be 100% foolproof as the thieves come up with new ways every day and law enforcement is always playing catch up. It is a small risk we all take when buying gift cards, because a credit card you always have chargeback protection.

Yeah probably what was done. I avoid entering any payments over WiFi. I’ll check lightning lanes and wait times, but whenever I go to pay for something I switch to cellular data.

Also at the end of a Disney trip I transfer any GC with a balance to another GC that didn’t make any payments on the trip.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Only if your "outlet to vent" includes wasting your time, wasting the time of the ftc, and wasting the time of the Florida AG. In no way is anyone alleging or showing any evidence that Disney was at fault here.

I’m a firm believer in making my tax dollars work for me. You may like your tax dollars to do other things, I get some free therapy from mine lol.

 

[Revf]

Yeah probably what was done. I avoid entering any payments over WiFi. I’ll check lightning lanes and wait times, but whenever I go to pay for something I switch to cellular data.

Also at the end of a Disney trip I transfer any GC with a balance to another GC that didn’t make any payments on the trip.

I strongly recommend a VPN like NordVPN when using ANY public WiFi services. Nord runs in the background on all my devices and automatically connects when I’m not on a trusted network.

If I didn’t set it up myself then I’m not using it without some form of protection.

 

[eticketplease]

You may like your tax dollars to do other things, I get some free therapy from mine lol.

Quote of the day!!

 

[eticketplease]

24 hours passed and I was able to do four more Google Play $200 cards at 10% off.

Was this on your amaz on tablet?

 

[gottalovepluto]

It sounds like most probably a wifi swoop was done here, which is when criminals set up a fake wifi network that looks almost identical to the Disney wifi network. So if the disney wifi network is called "Disney Resorts and Parks" the fake wifi network might be called "Disney Resorts & Parks". Almost no one would notice the difference. Your phone usually lists the wifi network with the strongest signal first, so the fraudster was probably close by and their wifi signal was probably stronger.

That sounds like the most probable theory so far.

 

[holyrita]

Only if your "outlet to vent" includes wasting your time, wasting the time of the ftc, and wasting the time of the Florida AG. In no way is anyone alleging or showing any evidence that Disney was at fault here.

It sounds like most probably a wifi swoop was done here, which is when criminals set up a fake wifi network that looks almost identical to the Disney wifi network. So if the disney wifi network is called "Disney Resorts and Parks" the fake wifi network might be called "Disney Resorts & Parks". Almost no one would notice the difference. Your phone usually lists the wifi network with the strongest signal first, so the fraudster was probably close by and their wifi signal was probably stronger.

Whenever I do anything that involves putting a credit card number (or gift card number) or signing into any account with a password, I always turn wifi off. Once you finish putting in the password and are logged in, you can turn wifi back on (again, as long as you are not putting in a any sensitive information like a credit card number.)

No matter how many precautions we all take with gift cards, it is never going to be 100% foolproof as the thieves come up with new ways every day and law enforcement is always playing catch up. It is a small risk we all take when buying gift cards, because a credit card you always have chargeback protection.

Based on the list of saved Wi-Fi networks on my phone, it seems more likely that this was packet sniffing or Wi-Fi snooping on Disney’s own public network, rather than Wi-Fi spoofing (which I believe is what you meant when you said “Wi-Fi swoop”).

I don’t like wasting anyone’s time, but a report is required for Disney to conduct an investigation, so we’ll be doing that. This is less about recovering the hundreds of dollars that was stolen from us and more about giving Disney the opportunity to identify the person responsible, as we're very unlikely to be the only victim.

Personally, I no longer consider this a small risk, having been directly impacted, though I recognize that everyone’s risk tolerance is different. Based on my time on this forum and the history of this thread, I believed that saving all gift card receipts and activation slips, along with monitoring transactions, was sufficient protection against blatant theft. I’ve since learned that this is not the case.

Also at the end of a Disney trip I transfer any GC with a balance to another GC that didn’t make any payments on the trip.

This is a great tip I'll definitely be using moving forward, thank you!

I strongly recommend a VPN like NordVPN when using ANY public WiFi services. Nord runs in the background on all my devices and automatically connects when I’m not on a trusted network.

If I didn’t set it up myself then I’m not using it without some form of protection.

This is also a great tip (and we actually even pay for one ).

I’m a firm believer in making my tax dollars work for me. You may like your tax dollars to do other things, I get some free therapy from mine lol.

 

[Tinkmom]

Can anyone share how long it is recently taking for gift cards ordered from BJs to arrive? Trying to coordinate delivery location over the holiday while we're traveling. BJs site says 3-5 business days, but I believed giftcard.com's estimate and they arrived very early!

 

[greeny41]

Thank you so much for posting! I needed another $1250 for finishing up my dues.

Paid $1,133.75 with tracking.
Should get $50 from chase offer.
Should get $20 from paypal offer
Should get $22 ish dollars from Rakuten

I have already maxed out my chase freedom/paypal 5% so I used my chase unlimited to get 1700 UR points.

Not too shabby!

Unless I'm misunderstanding, you unfortunately won't get the $50 Chase offer if you paid through PayPal. I tried combining those previously and got the $20 worth of points from PayPal but Chase didn't work since it flags as third party payment

 

[smrt1]

Only if your "outlet to vent" includes wasting your time, wasting the time of the ftc, and wasting the time of the Florida AG. In no way is anyone alleging or showing any evidence that Disney was at fault here.

It sounds like most probably a wifi swoop was done here, which is when criminals set up a fake wifi network that looks almost identical to the Disney wifi network. So if the disney wifi network is called "Disney Resorts and Parks" the fake wifi network might be called "Disney Resorts & Parks". Almost no one would notice the difference. Your phone usually lists the wifi network with the strongest signal first, so the fraudster was probably close by and their wifi signal was probably stronger.

Whenever I do anything that involves putting a credit card number (or gift card number) or signing into any account with a password, I always turn wifi off. Once you finish putting in the password and are logged in, you can turn wifi back on (again, as long as you are not putting in a any sensitive information like a credit card number.)

No matter how many precautions we all take with gift cards, it is never going to be 100% foolproof as the thieves come up with new ways every day and law enforcement is always playing catch up. It is a small risk we all take when buying gift cards, because a credit card you always have chargeback protection.

So if I have the GC saved in my MDE account and I buy something from a counter service restaurant, am I running a risk? Usually I just swipe the card, but for mobile ordering on the app I use the saved info. Otherwise I’m wondering if I should just bill everything to my room account and then pay with a GC at checkout.

 

[MIChessGuy]

There is an unconfirmed report that Staples has the $200 Visa gift card fee free in store this week. (By unconfirmed, I mean that I have only seen one person post it. However, according to the usual Staples schedule, you would expect them to be fee free this week.)

I received a holiday 'last chance' email from Staples today in which the fee-free $200 Visa gift card was listed as available in-store only through this Saturday, December 27. Limit of 9 cards per customer, per day. Also says not offered in all states, so depending on your specific store, they might say they're not doing it.

 

[eticketplease]

Unless I'm misunderstanding, you unfortunately won't get the $50 Chase offer if you paid through PayPal. I tried combining those previously and got the $20 worth of points from PayPal but Chase didn't work since it flags as third party payment

Chase Offers do pay out when going through PayPal as long as it is coded correctly.
If it codes as "BHN" or "Blackhawk Network" then it won't trigger the offer for giftcards.com
If it codes as "GiftCards.com" or "GiftCardscom" it should trigger the offer.

 

[eticketplease]

So if I have the GC saved in my MDE account and I buy something from a counter service restaurant, am I running a risk? Usually I just swipe the card, but for mobile ordering on the app I use the saved info. Otherwise I’m wondering if I should just bill everything to my room account and then pay with a GC at checkout.

I wouldn't think so if it is already "saved" then I don't think it would be an issue.
Unless you are mobile ordering QS I would just order with my magicband and then pay it off at the resort with the gift card.
I do this so that as it is much easier to track how much I spent as it is nicely displayed on the hotel bill that is emailed rather than fighting through DGC website that generally just states WDW resort rather than MK Popcorn cart or Cosmic Ray's that appears on the hotel bill.

 

[eticketplease]

Can anyone share how long it is recently taking for gift cards ordered from BJs to arrive? Trying to coordinate delivery location over the holiday while we're traveling. BJs site says 3-5 business days, but I believed giftcard.com's estimate and they arrived very early!

I would say 3-5 days is accurate however my mail is slow so it's possible that you will receive it sooner.

 

[Traveling on cc points]

Unless I'm misunderstanding, you unfortunately won't get the $50 Chase offer if you paid through PayPal. I tried combining those previously and got the $20 worth of points from PayPal but Chase didn't work since it flags as third party payment

Thanks for the heads up. I didn’t realize that.

I have double dipped on Amex offers before and haven’t had a problem. If if doesn’t post, I’ll call and see what they say. As of right now it is still pending but does show the gift cards.com and PayPal
The offer is still showing as added offers.

 

[Traveling on cc points]

Chase Offers do pay out when going through PayPal as long as it is coded correctly.
If it codes as "BHN" or "Blackhawk Network" then it won't trigger the offer for giftcards.com
If it codes as "GiftCards.com" or "GiftCardscom" it should trigger the offer.

I should be good the right?

 

[eticketplease]

Thanks for the heads up. I didn’t realize that.

I have double dipped on Amex offers before and haven’t had a problem. If if doesn’t post, I’ll call and see what they say. As of right now it is still pending but does show the gift cards.com and PayPal
The offer is still showing as added offers.

I must say I love how you visited a website "in person"

Fingers crossed since it has both "BHN" & "Giftcards.com" in the description