Beware of Gift Card Scams: Protect Yourself During the Holidays

The Sacramento County Sheriff's Office has issued a warning about a sophisticated gift card scam with national and international implications. During a recent anti-retail theft operation, a Chinese national was arrested for possessing thousands of stolen Target and Apple gift cards. The suspect would remove the bar code glue, record the PINs, and then reseal the cards before returning them to store shelves. Unsuspecting shoppers would purchase the tampered cards, loading funds onto them, only for the money to be immediately transferred to an offshore account, likely in China. The sheriff's office is urging caution when purchasing physical gift cards and asking the public for any tips related to the case.