With the huge popularity of gift cards, you might have guessed, there is some fraud out there.

As AG Nixon pointed out in a consumer alert last Christmas season, one of the big no-no's with gift cards is to buy them online from someone reselling them. You have no idea of their value, whether they were stolen, etc.

The safest thing is to buy the card at the retail store or its official Web site, then keep your receipt if you or your gift recipient ever has trouble.

As for fees, you are most likely to encounter them and other restrictions with "use anwhere" cards, like those offered by Mastercard and Visa. Cards usable only at a specific retailer generally have very few fees or restrictions.