HARTFORD, Conn. -- A survey by the National Retail Federation found that gift cards will be the most requested gift of the holiday season.

However, if you aren't careful when shopping for gift cards, you could be throwing away your cash. The Department of Consumer Protection is warning that getting and giving the cards is a little different this year.

According to the survey, 55 percent of consumers said that they do want gift cards this year. Despite the demand, gift card sales are expected to fall nearly 6 percent from last year.

One of the reason's for the expected decline is the economy. Some shoppers think they'll save more money by buying gifts at a discount than by purchasing gift cards at face value.

"Well consumers need to know going into the holiday season that there are some issues with gift cards," said Commissioner of the Department of Consumer Protection Jerry Farrell. "A retailer that you purchase a gift from today, some of them might not be here after Christmas, so it's something you need to carefully consider."

Several consumers told Eyewitness News that they are wary of gift cards this year.

"I'm a little worried about them with all the stores closing down. I'm thinking about giving out cash instead of gift cards," said Lori Rottino, of Willimantic.

Linens N' Things is on its way out of business, and other chains are closing stores. Once a business does file for bankruptcy, it isn't easy for the gift-card holder to recoup the money.

"The problem becomes they go into bankruptcy, because bankruptcy is a federal process, our state law on gift cards does not apply. You're thrown into bankruptcy with all the other creditors of that company," Farrell said.

Farrell said that there is a distinction between a store "going bankrupt" and "going out of business."

"For a going out of business situation, they're required to file a bond with consumer protection, so that's very different from the federal bankruptcy situation where there is no such bond," he said.

The bond can be used to reimburse customers who have gift cards or credits.

While Connecticut law mandates that store and restaurant cards cannot expire, that rule does not apply to gift cards from credit card companies.

"There are these Visa, Mastercard gift cards that are issued in essence through a nationally chartered bank. Connecticut laws do not apply to them," Farrell said.

Which means, after a certain amount of time, the cards could expire or rack up fees, eating away at the card's value.