MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Those loyalty points can be a great way to beat inflation, as long as someone doesn’t steal them before they can be used. It’s becoming a more common problem lately.
Here's how it works: With every purchase, you get an extra discount at the fuel pump. After making several big purchases, David Barbee noticed that someone was draining his fuel points.
“There was somebody out there who has been plugging in my phone number at the pump and taking those reward points I had earned,” he said.
Loyalty fraud is a bigger business than you might think. Researchers said from credit accounts and other membership cards, there's $140 billion in loyalty points just sitting in our accounts for criminals to target.
Patrick Sullivan with Akamai, an online security company, follows fraud cases like this and said every day, there are more than a billion attacks trying to take over accounts.
“Unfortunately, wherever you have a stored value, there are fraudsters who are trying to get their hands on it," he said. "There are these massive bot armies that all day long are trying to find credential combinations, trying to successfully log in.”
Once they have your account, they can liquidate your points. Account takeovers increased 90% in the last year, with an estimated economic impact of $11 billion. Unlike other types of fraud, these points are not as often closely monitored as other purchases.
To be clear, stealing loyalty points is illegal. You can report people to the police or the company, but enforcement can be difficult. The best route is to protect yourself.
Consumer experts said the number one thing you can do is have a unique password. If your ten-digit alternate ID is one of your phone numbers, you should change it.
While retailers like Kroger are always trying to stay ahead of the scammers, they can’t help but try to make a quick buck from the money you spent.