Excellence in Business/Consumer/Tech Reporting
ABOUT THE WORK: Card draining is a scheme where thieves remove gift cards from stores, copy their numeric codes or swap them out for counterfeit cards, and place the products back on display. When an unsuspecting customer loads money onto a tampered or counterfeit card, criminals access it online and steal the balance.
The Federal Trade Commission and FBI estimate gift card scams, including draining, cost consumers hundreds of millions of dollars each year and in our reporting, we interviewed a church group and even a police agency that were victims of these scams when they bought gift cards to give to their community members.
After seeing this NBC News reporting, Maryland state senator Ben Kramer contacted NBC News correspondent Vicky Nguyen and quickly introduced the “Gift Card Scams Prevention Act.” It ensures retailers and gift card manufacturers protect consumers from these scams by redesigning the packaging of gift cards and/or the way the cards are secured and sold. NBC News Now stayed on top of the story, releasing this report about the bill, and then continued to cover it after the bill passed. It was signed into law by Maryland governor Wes Moore in July of 2024 and takes effect in June of 2025. This new legislation has already improved the security of gift cards nationwide because manufacturers have re-designed their cards to comply with the Maryland law.
Vicky Nguyen is an Emmy Award-winning journalist and author. She is the Chief Consumer Investigative Correspondent and anchor of NBC News Daily, and also reports for TODAY and NBC Nightly News. She is known for her investigative reporting and consumer-focused stories. Nguyen is also the author of the NY Times best selling memoir, "Boat Baby", which details her family's journey from Vietnam to the United States and how she went from being a boat baby refugee to national correspondent in one generation.
Jamie Nguyen is a veteran multi-Emmy award winning journalist, storyteller, and newsroom leader with more than 20 years of experience in daily news and long-term investigations. She is currently the senior coordinating producer for CBS News and stations overseeing the Consumer/ Business/ Technology Team. In this rapidly changing world, from money matters to technology, our goal is to breakdown complicated matters to help viewers make the best decisions for their safety and security. While focused on pocketbook issues, Jamie’s work also includes highlighting social issues. She served as senior broadcast producer on a one -hour special focused on the state of hate in America. During the pandemic, she served as creator and executive producer of The Racism Virus, an in depth look at the rise in violence and hate against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
Honorable Mention: Lam Le, Nhung Nguyen, and Anup Kaphle, “ShopeeFood drops non-compete clause after Rest of World reporting” (1/2), Rest of World
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