Consumers like gift cards because they make the joys of obligatory generosity easier and thus more joyous. A recent survey noted that 80% of shoppers said they were going to purchase a gift card this holiday season, for an estimated total of $27.8 billion. Companies like them too, because companies like free money. According to the Wall Street Journal, from 2005 to the present, $41 billion worth of money on gift cards has been lost or will never be redeemed. This doesn't include any of the $800 billion cost of Iraq War that President Bush attempted to pay for with old gift cards to Applebee's. more ›

Two Romanian men were busted for allegedly stealing close to $18,000—in one night—from ATMs from a JPMorgan Chase bank in Queens, all thanks to some handy tricked-out Dunkin' Donuts gift cards. more ›

After several days of deliberation and speculation, the Yankees announced today that Alex Rodriguez will undergo arthroscopic surgery tomorrow to repair the torn labrum in his hip. That should only keep A-Rod sidelined somewhere from six to nine weeks, an improvement on the original diagnosis that a cyst would keep him out for a full ten weeks. more ›

'Tis the season to...steal from your workplace? The NY Sun reports that the Manhattan district attorney's office is prosecuting a case against a Bloomingdale's employee who created bogus gift cards.

The complaint says Jennifer Ng, a 22-year-old Queens resident, cheated the East Side store out of $34,515 during the nearly month-long scam. more ›