Gift cards are often the go-to option when you’re not sure what someone wants. But one Sephora customer said hers was empty before she ever got the chance to use it.
TikTok user @alpal4everr said she recently tried to make a purchase at Sephora using a gift card. When she went to check out, though, she was stunned to find that the card had a $0 balance, despite never having used it. She said she even had the activation receipt and the still-sealed packaging to back her up.
Unfortunately, scammers had already drained the balance before she could spend a cent. Now @alpal4everr is warning others about the risks of buying gift cards from third-party sellers.
Her TikTok, posted as a cautionary tale, had racked up over 7,600 views by Friday.
What happened at Sephora?
@alpal4everr said she was excited to use the Sephora gift card her parents had given her, so much so that she picked out her items ahead of time. But when she got to the register, things took a turn.
“It says it has $0 on it,” she recalled the cashier telling her.
The employee scanned the card a few more times, but the result didn’t change. It was empty.
That didn’t make sense to @alpal4everr, especially since she brought the activation receipt and the still-sealed gift card as proof she hadn’t used it.
A manager eventually stepped in to help, but again, the same outcome. The balance was gone. And according to @alpal4everr, the manager told her it wasn’t an isolated case.
“She basically tells me that this has been happening a lot,” she said. “It was very aggravating, very humbling, [and] very unfortunate. Be warned.”
Her advice to others: skip third-party sellers and buy gift cards “straight from the source.”
Scammers target gift card purchases
Unfortunately, @alpal4everr’s experience isn’t rare. It’s part of a broader scam known as gift card draining or tampering, and it’s surprisingly common.
One Target employee on TikTok said the scam happens a lot but admitted that stores often can’t do much to stop it. “There are so many online and in-person scams that it’s really hard to know fully if you’re going to get your money,” she warned.
The scheme is simple: Thieves steal gift cards, record or alter the card numbers, drain the funds, reseal the packaging, and slip the card back onto the rack. By the time someone buys or tries to use the card, the money is already long gone, and the fraud is nearly impossible to detect just by looking.
A 2022 AARP study found that nearly one in four U.S. consumers (23%) had bought a gift card that was already drained. Worse still, more than half of those affected said they couldn’t get their money back.
And the problem isn’t going away. That same year, the Federal Trade Commission logged around 49,000 reports of gift card fraud, amounting to $228 million in losses.
Federal regulators are working to crack down on scams like these—but as @alpal4everr’s video shows, the fraudsters are still a step ahead.
@alpal4everr Apparently Walgreens is supposed to help but I have not heard back from them yet :/
♬ original sound – Al Pal
Viewers advise buying different gifts
In the comments on @alpal4everr’s video, plenty of users said her story was all the proof they needed to swear off gift cards for good.
“Can we make gift cards a thing of the past?” one asked. “With Venmo, Cash App now, it’s just not needed.”
“Bro I would start crying,” another commenter added.
To that comment, @alpal4everr replied that the experience did, in fact, make her cry.
Others said the same thing had happened to them—and that it’s more common than people think.
“Has happened to me before with Target,” one TikToker said.
“I work at Sephora, and I can confirm. This happens weekly,” another shared.
“This has happened to me twice,” a third viewer wrote.
In @alpal4everr’s case, there may be a silver lining. While she hasn’t posted a full update since sharing her story on Wednesday, she noted in the caption that Walgreens, where her parents originally bought the gift card, is expected to step in and help.
“I have not heard back from them yet,” she said.
The Daily Dot has reached out to @alpal4everr via TikTok comment and to Sephora through email.
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