The holiday season has left many consumers with gift cards that they do not care to use, and this has created an entire secondary market around such gift cards. Along with a new market comes a new breed of criminals that are trying to scam consumers. Many small-time consumers are stealing gift cards and sell them on websites such as Storefrontbacktalk.com, which enables people to trade and sell gift cards. Others steal the numbers off of gift cards and then call in later on to see how much is left on the card - they then create counterfeit cards and sell them online. It's a growing problem that stores are just now trying to address...

From TheState.com:
The guy trying to unload his Cold Stone Creamery gift card on eBay because he says he's lactose intolerant might be a scam artist. Gift cards are more popular than ever, and this time of year Web sites are flooded with sellers hoping to unload unwanted cards, often at significant discounts. Some experts recommend that shoppers avoid such sites entirely.