alt Hacker NewsThere are apparently large amounts of NEW gift card scams going around; Target has recently changed how they work and I've heard other reports.
Frankly, staying away from gift cards seems the best option unless it's blast radius can be limited (e.g., redeemed in person).
But that basically screws over loyal Apple customers who trade in an entire family’s worth of iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, Macbooks, etc over the years. Sometimes you just take a giftcard because you don’t want to buy a new thing. Fast forward a couple of years, you basically learn that you traded in your Macbook Pro for nothing. How’s that not a controversy? Perhaps they should give customers non-transferable store credits that cannot be purchased elsewhere. Avoids the entire issue with gift cards.