MyBalanceNow is not where you check a Target GiftCard. It handles Target's prepaid Visa and Mastercard gift cards, which are a different product entirely. An actual Target GiftCard balance goes to target.com/giftcard/check-balance, using the 15-digit card number and the Access Number hidden under the silver strip on the back. Almost every guide on this topic conflates the 2 cards, and there is a 3rd — the merchandise return card — that neither site recognises.
- HelpMeLogin is not Target. This page has no balance checker and never will. We cannot look up a card.
- The only address that should receive your card number is target.com/giftcard/check-balance. Type it. Do not reach a balance checker through a search result, an email, a text or an ad.
- Fake balance checkers exist specifically to harvest card numbers. Security researchers have found over a thousand sites built for this, including direct spoofs of retailers' own balance pages. Entering a number on one drains the card in minutes.
- Nobody legitimate is ever paid in gift cards. Not a utility, not the tax authority, not police, not a company you owe money to. A demand for gift card payment is always a scam, without exception.
What you need
13 itemsHow it works
Work out which card you actually have
This is the step the whole page turns on. A Target GiftCard is the red-and-white card sold at the checkout for use at Target. A Target prepaid Visa or Mastercard is a general-purpose card that happens to be sold at Target and works anywhere. They look similar, they are bought in the same aisle, and they use 2 completely different balance systems. A 3rd card, the merchandise return card, uses neither.
For a Target GiftCard, go to target.com
Type target.com/giftcard/check-balance. Target's own security team is explicit that you should only check a balance on their site. Enter the 15-digit number and the Access Number.
For a prepaid Visa or Mastercard, MyBalanceNow is correct
mybalancenow.com is a legitimate site for that product. It is not a scam — it is simply the wrong destination for a Target GiftCard, which is where the confusion comes from.
Find the Access Number under the silver strip
Gently scratch the silver strip on the back of the card. The Access Number is underneath. Your card may also show an Event or Sequence Number — those are not needed for a balance check and entering them will not help.
Or skip the card entirely
If you have saved the GiftCard to your Target account, sign in and go to My Target, then Settings, then Gift cards. The balance is there without typing any numbers, which is the safest route available.
Never reach a balance checker through a search
Type the address. Security researchers have documented direct spoofs of Target's own balance page, and over a thousand sites built to harvest card details this way. A fake checker looks identical and drains the card the moment you submit.
What’s fixed, and what actually varies
The two official addresses are stable. Almost everything else about this topic — especially what you read in search results — is not.
Fixed
- A Target GiftCard balance is checked at target.com, not MyBalanceNow
- MyBalanceNow handles Target's prepaid Visa and Mastercard products
- A GiftCard needs the 15-digit number and the Access Number
- The Access Number sits under the silver strip on the back
- Event and Sequence numbers are not needed for a balance check
- No legitimate organisation is ever paid in gift cards
Varies
- Which card someone actually holds, which they often do not know
- Whether the card was saved to a Target account, which removes the need to type anything
- Whether a card has been tampered with before purchase
- What any given search result is actually going to do with your card number
- Whether an unactivated card still holds its full value
Look at the card itself. A Target GiftCard is Target-branded and works only at Target. A prepaid card carries a Visa or Mastercard logo and works anywhere. That single distinction decides which of the 2 sites you need, and getting it wrong is the reason people conclude their card is broken when it is simply on the other system.
How Target compares
The three most-searched gift card balance checks, and the risk attached to each.
| Chain | Official balance check | What you need | Main risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Target | target.com/giftcard/check-balance | 15-digit number + Access Number | Spoofed balance-check sites |
| Walmart | walmart.com/gift-card-balance | Card number + PIN | Draining and fake checkers |
| Amazon | amazon.com/gc/balance | Claim code, applied to account | Payment-demand scams |
Balance-check addresses change. Always confirm against the retailer's own help pages rather than a search result.
All three are targeted by the same fraud, and the defence is identical: type the retailer's own address rather than searching for a checker. Amazon is slightly safer by design because a claim code is applied to your account rather than checked repeatedly — once it is applied, there is no number left worth stealing.
If something goes wrong
- Cause
- You are almost certainly holding a Target GiftCard rather than a prepaid Visa or Mastercard
- Fix
- Go to target.com/giftcard/check-balance instead. The two products use separate systems and neither will recognise the other's cards.
- Cause
- It is hidden under the silver strip
- Fix
- Gently scratch the silver strip on the back of the card. Do not confuse it with the Event or Sequence Number, which is printed openly and is not needed.
- Cause
- Gift card draining — the card was tampered with before you bought it
- Fix
- Report it to Target immediately with the receipt. Fraudsters remove cards from shelves, expose the number and access code, reseal the packaging and drain the card the moment it is loaded.
- Cause
- You may have used a spoofed balance checker
- Fix
- Contact Target immediately. Fake checkers exist to harvest numbers and the balance is usually spent within minutes. Keep the receipt — it is the evidence you will need.
- Cause
- This is always a scam, without exception
- Fix
- No utility, tax authority, police force, employer or legitimate company accepts gift cards as payment. Stop, do not buy the cards, and report it.
- Cause
- Possible tampering
- Fix
- Do not buy or use it. Return it to a team member. Check gift cards for signs of tampering before purchase — this is the point at which draining is preventable.
Why this topic is dangerous in a way surveys are not
Most pages on this site describe a mild inconvenience — a survey code rejected, a portal that will not load. This one describes a category where getting it wrong costs money immediately and permanently.
Gift card balance checking is among the most heavily spoofed processes on the consumer internet. Security researchers have documented direct clones of Target's own balance page, and over 1,000 sites built around the same pattern — a phishing operation at industrial scale, traced in 1 case to a single registrant. They look right, they ask for exactly what a real checker asks for, and the card is empty before you close the tab. There is no chargeback on a gift card.
One security guide's advice on this is blunt and correct: do not search the internet for balance checking websites, because you may encounter a malicious dupe. That advice sits awkwardly alongside a page like this one appearing in search results, so let us be direct about it. The value of this page is telling you which address to type and how to tell the two Target card products apart. It is not a balance checker and there is no reason to enter a card number here or anywhere except target.com.
The second risk is physical. Fraudsters take cards from the rack, peel the packaging, record the number and the code, reseal it and put it back. The card is worthless the moment you load it. Checking the packaging before you buy, and not activating a card until you intend to spend it, are the two habits that defeat that.
One more card type worth separating out: a Target merchandise return card is issued for a return without a receipt. It is neither a GiftCard nor a prepaid Visa, and neither of the 2 balance sites above will recognise it. Check it in store or through your Target account.
Questions people ask
Is MyBalanceNow the right site for my Target gift card?
Only if you have a Target prepaid Visa or Mastercard. For an actual Target GiftCard, the balance check is at target.com/giftcard/check-balance. The two are different products and almost every guide conflates them.
What do I need to check a Target GiftCard balance?
The 15-digit card number and the Access Number, which sits under the silver strip on the back. Any Event or Sequence Number printed on the card is not needed.
Is MyBalanceNow a scam?
No, it is legitimate for the prepaid Visa and Mastercard products. The problem is that it is the wrong destination for a Target GiftCard, not that the site itself is fraudulent.
Can I check the balance without typing the number?
Yes, if the card is saved to your Target account. Sign in, then My Target, Settings, Gift cards. That is the safest route because no card details are entered anywhere.
My new card has no balance — what happened?
Most likely gift card draining. The card was tampered with on the shelf, the details recorded, and the balance spent as soon as you loaded it. Report it to Target with your receipt straight away.
Why shouldn't I just search for a balance checker?
Because spoofed checkers rank in search and look identical to the real thing. Security researchers have found over a thousand of them. Type the retailer's own address instead.
Someone asked me to pay them in Target gift cards — is that ever legitimate?
Never. No utility, government body, police force or genuine company takes payment in gift cards. A request for it is definitionally a scam.
Should I activate a gift card straight away?
No. Activate it when you are ready to spend it. An unactivated card is worthless to anyone who copied its details, which is why waiting defeats shelf tampering.