Securing Trust: Tackling Counterfeits and Fraud in 2025 with Janet Napolitano of UC Berkeley

From 2019-2023, Americans lost almost one billion dollars to gift card scams, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Gift card scams range from physical card tampering to card draining—where fraudsters steal or alter gift cards to steal funds before the recipient can use the card. Often these fraudulent acts go unreported, resulting in consumers losing money and ultimately paying higher prices.

In this episode of Art of the Possible host Riley McCormack is joined by Janet Napolitano, Founder of the Center for Security in Politics at UC Berkeley, former US Secretary of Homeland Security, former Governor of Arizona, and former President of the University of California. Together, they discuss the growing gift card fraud issue and how it is impacting the public’s overall trust in this form of currency.

Despite industry pushback, Maryland recently became the first state to require secure packaging for most gift cards sold at brick-and-mortar stores. McCormack and Napolitano highlight the Gift Card Scams Prevention Act of 2024 and explore how technology will play a part in identifying the major fraudsters within the gift card industry. They also discuss why ongoing communications with major retailers is an important step in solving gift card fraud because they are well-positioned to adopt fraud-prevention technologies.

We invite you to listen to the Art of the Possible to learn how the public and private sectors are collaborating to combat gift card fraud. You’ll find the Art of the Possible podcast on Spotify, iTunes, or your preferred podcast platform.