SF sues gift card maker over security flaws that leave consumers vulnerable to scams

San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu on Monday announced a lawsuit against the makers of popular gift cards that line racks in grocery stores and other retailers around the country, saying they are very vulnerable to scammers.

Chiu said he is suing InComm Financial Services, Inc. and its partner banks over insecure cardboard packaging of Vanilla gift cards that makes them “susceptible to rampant ‘card draining’ and unauthorized transactions.”