The Gift Card Accountability Sink
21st December 2025
But the AARP, the FBI, and your friendly local payments nerd will all tell you that if you’re abused on your debit card you are quite likely to be made whole, and if you’re abused via purchasing gift cards, it is unlikely any deep pockets will cover for you. The difference in treatment is partially regulatory carveouts, partially organized political pressure, and partly a side effect of an accountability sink specific to the industrial organization of gift cards.