I purchased two different valued gift cards to Dickey’s Barbecue Pit last week from Kroger’s. When I tried to pre-pay my order of ribs at Dickey’s, one gift card cleared and the other didn’t.

So I returned to Kroger with my receipts and cardboard holders and they found a paper code strip glued onto the dud’s cardboard holder. Evidently when the Kroger cashier originally scanned the card, the scammer got credited my money and my card had no value.

Thankfully, the manager at Kroger accepted all my receipts and the fake paper code and reloaded my gift card. She said she only saw this happen once before and she was going to educate all of her cashiers. I said I’d educate all the people I came in contact with too.

So beware. Check all your gift cards for a fake paper strip in the code area before you purchase them and remove the strip. Or have the cashier remove it because it doesn’t match the card’s code. This will educate the cashier too. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

—Nancy Swanberg

Delaware