abcgiftcards.com Fraudulent Gift Card Sold East Windsor, New Jersey

I have purchased gift cards in the secondary market from various internet entities.  ABCgiftcards.com is one of them, and until my last purchase, performed satisfactorily.  In that instance, I purchased a very large dollar amount Barnes & Noble gift card at a 12% discount.  Approximately 30 days later, I attempted to make a purchase at a  B&N store, and found out that the card had a zero balance--i.e., it was fraudulent. 

It took two weeks before ABC finally refunded my money via credit card.  They wanted a scan, which I couldn't provide, as I was travelling and did not have a scanner available.  I asked them if they would reimburse me if I used my hotel's business center (where I would use a scanner + computer) and they ignored my question.  I then asked why providing the card number and pin via email was not acceptable, and they only parroted their "policy" of requiring a scan.

During that period, "Alan" sent me an email stating that a credit had been issued.  That credit didn't show up, and when I emailed Alan back about the delay,  he said he would look into it.  He never got back to me.  Only after I was able to get a scan over to them did they finally issue me the credit.

Either ABC failed to verify the card balance before they sent it to me, or the card was fraudulently purchased and not caught by B&N until after it had been sent to me.  ABC only has a 45 day guarantee, which is very inadequate given the significant possibility of fraud.  There are other gift card websites on line which provide better protection, and I will use them in the future, even though they may not provide as good a discount.