Gift card 'draining' scam hits Target store in Virginia, police say
In a "be on the lookout" bulletin issued to Target employees by loss-prevention staffers, two men were pictured. Then, shortly before Christmas, according to court records, the two showed up at a Target store in Springfield, Va. A Fairfax County police officer, responding to a call, arrived at the store and saw the men hanging dozens of altered gift cards on a rack.
A search of the men's vehicle turned up hundreds more gift cards, police said. Officers confiscated nearly a thousand in all.
The men are accused in a scam that has been reported across the country recently. Often called "card draining," the theft involves criminals who steal gift cards from stores, alter them or obtain their information, then put them back on store racks. When a shopper buys one and it is activated, the balance is quickly drained.
"We are aware of the prevalence of gift card tampering and take this issue very seriously," Target spokeswoman Kayla Castañeda said in a statement. She said it is an industry-wide problem that victimizes and inconveniences shoppers. Target staffers are asked to monitor the gift card racks and regularly inspect cards for signs of tampering, she said.
The men spotted in the Springfield store on Dec. 20 had been seen earlier that day in a Target store in Manassas, police said. After the men were arrested, investigators determined they had put 280 gift cards on the rack, according to court records. The cards had their codes scratched off, meaning that if someone had bought and activated one, the amount would have gone to the account of the suspects.
Rongjie He, 32, of California, was charged with multiple felony counts of obtaining money by false pretense, credit card theft and conspiracy to commit larceny, police said. He was taken to a Fairfax County detention center and later released on bond.
Kaihua Chen, 27, also of California, was charged with multiple felony counts of obtaining money by false pretense, credit card theft and conspiracy to commit larceny. He was still being held Wednesday.
Preliminary hearings for both men are scheduled for March in Fairfax County General District Court. A lawyer for Chen did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Online court records do not list an attorney for He.
The records also do not indicate whether the men have entered pleas.
"There was evidence that they were targeting numerous Target stores in our region," said Fairfax police spokesman Sgt. Jacob Pearce.
Similar scams have been reported across the country. This month, Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry (D), issued a warning to shoppers in her state after card draining was alleged at an eastern Pennsylvania grocery store.
"The holidays present additional opportunities for scammers to deceive and steal from consumers who choose gift cards as presents for loved ones," Henry said. "Be sure to take a careful look at the cards you purchase and keep your receipts, just in case."
In Sacramento County, Calif., this month, detectives caught a man putting gift cards from a rack inside his jacket, then replacing them with a set of seemingly identical ones. The detectives soon discovered more than 5,000 gift cards from Target and Apple in the man's possession.
"Victims are completely unaware it is happening, and the money is often siphoned to an offshore account within seconds," the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office said in a statement. The investigation "revealed that the operation spanned across California and several regions nationwide."
Police recommend shoppers check gift card packaging for any sign of tampering - such as broken seals or loose corners - or resealing on the wrappers.
Authorities also recommend checking the activation sticker or label on the back of the gift card to make sure it hasn't been peeled off or replaced, or otherwise looks suspicious.
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