Dear Customer, Dear Customer
Vouchers are something great! Whether as a birthday present, as a small gift, as security for payments to various services - they are as diverse as people themselves. Unfortunately, more and more fraudsters are also using vouchers for their evil purposes, as they have the character of money.
As a leading provider of digital vouchers, we see it as our duty to prevent this fraud with all our might. This is often achieved with appropriate order checks (automatic/manual) but also with the sensitisation of the customers, so that it does not come to that in the first place.
We would like to sensitise you herewith to dangers on the Internet (fraud etc.). Here we have compiled a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) to answer the most important questions.
How does voucher fraud happen?
There are primarily two types of voucher fraud.
- Voucher fraud directly
- In these cases, someone is often asked for a voucher for something. This something can be anything. It can be a tablet, a mobile phone, bitcoins, any photos, documents, blackmail, etc. Always be alert and suspicious if you are asked for vouchers of any kind (Google Play, Steam, IKEA, Coop, etc.) for payment. Vouchers can only be used with the respective providers and never, for example, for payment of taxes, fines, etc.
- We are aware of cases of fraud with offers of vaccines to COVID-19 (you get vaccine if you send a voucher), fraud via platforms Tutti.ch, Ricardo.ch with offers of Playstation 5, watches and other popular products.
- The alphanumeric numbers of vouchers that are intended for redemption are confidential and to be treated as cash. Whoever has access to this data can use the credit of the voucher.
- Fraud with payment/personal data
- Fraud with payment/customer data is almost even more frequent. Identities of unsuspecting customers are copied and the corresponding payment data misused. By payment data are meant e.g.
- PostFinance Card -> card number & ID
- Credit cards -> card numbers, CVC, expiry date, SMS verification code
- TWINT -> PIN code for payment
- In such cases, the fraudsters are in possession of this data. It is therefore extremely important not to let the fraudsters get hold of this data in the first place. Therefore, make sure you never give your cards out of your hands, only take photos if necessary and with blackened/covered data. Never, under any circumstances, give SMS codes to third parties to verify transactions. With these you authorise the transaction!
Who is liable in case of voucher fraud?As a rule, you are liable yourself. It also depends on whether there was fraud with payment data or vouchers by you. In the first case, you must be able to prove that you are not at fault (no photos of payment data shared, cards passed on, etc.), otherwise a contractual clause usually applies, which can make you liable in the case of recklessness. In the second case, you are liable yourself in any case, unless you have appropriate insurance for this. We as merchants are not liable in any case.
Can I return vouchers if I have been cheated?Under certain circumstances this is possible. These circumstances have to be looked at individually from case to case. However, we always charge a fee in these cases and require you to report it to the police, as fraud (even attempted fraud) is basically a criminal offence. Since gangs/networks are usually behind it, a report is necessary for the police to take action. Please contact us.
What do you do to prevent such fraud?We invest a lot in the automatic ordering system.