The lawyer warned Russians about problems with gift cards of marketplaces

During the holidays, many Russians received gift cards and marketplace certificates, but sometimes they cannot be used. On March 10, Alexander Khaminsky, head of the Law Enforcement Center in Moscow and the Moscow Region, spoke about how to act in such a situation.

"Judicial practice and the law proceed from the fact that a gift card is not a commodity, but gives the bearer the right to purchase goods or services from the seller for the amount indicated in it. Accordingly, the money from the sale of such certificates is an advance payment for goods that will be purchased in the future," he said in an interview with the Prime agency.

According to the lawyer, there are often situations when the certificate cannot be activated because the application says that the code has already been used. In this case, we may be talking about fraud: attackers can select codes using special generators or spy on them before selling the card. In this situation, it is necessary to contact the marketplace support service as soon as possible and provide a photo of the certificate along with the purchase receipt. The store can check which account the funds were credited to and block them.

Khaminsky also noted that sometimes the problem is related to manufacturing defects. For example, a protective layer may stick to the digits of the code. In this case, you should not try to guess the symbols yourself — it is enough to send a clear photo of the damaged card to the support service and specify the serial number. After verifying the data, the store can send the code by email, replace the certificate, or refund the money.

The lawyer stressed that the key proof in such situations remains the purchase receipt. Without it, it is much more difficult to confirm ownership of the certificate.

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On March 6, the Department for Combating the Illegal use of information and Communication Technologies (UBK) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia reported that fraudsters began using sellers' accounts on marketplaces to deceive customers. The department urged citizens to take precautions. Customers are advised not to switch to instant messengers to place orders and not to pay for goods using links sent outside of official services.

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