The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office is warning the public about a disturbing and “very sophisticated” gift card scam that has national and international implications.
The sheriff’s office told Fox News Digital this week that it conducted a massive retail theft operation at big box stores across the county, netting 285 felony and misdemeanor arrests in seven days.
Among those arrested was a Chinese national who was in possession of thousands of Target and Apple gift cards.
“During our recent retail theft Operation Bad Elf, detectives observed an individual, later identified as Ningning Sun, acting suspiciously near gift cards in the checkout aisles of a Sacramento Target store,” the office said. from the sheriff in a news release Wednesday.
The office said investigators witnessed Sun remove all the gift cards from a shelf at a Target store and stuff them inside his jacket.
Authorities said the suspect then replaced the missing cards with “another set of apparently identical cards.”
Members of the sheriff’s office followed the suspect outside, where newly released footage shows detectives surrounding the man to make an arrest.
Ningning Sun was arrested after police saw him acting suspiciously near gift cards in the checkout aisles of a Sacramento Target store. Facebook/Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office
“That guy blew up like a piñata at a kid’s birthday party, spilling gift cards out of his jacket,” Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Amar Gandhi told Fox News Digital in a phone call this week. week.
After the arrest, detectives went to Sun’s car and found thousands of Apple and Target gift cards.
Gandhi explained that the suspect would obtain legitimate gift cards from store shelves and “surgically remove” the glue covering the barcodes on the cards.
It would then supposedly record the PINs, re-hide the barcodes with glue, and return the cards to store shelves.
Detectives discovered more than 5,000 Target and Apple gift cards in his possession. Facebook/Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office
“[The] The investigation revealed that Sun was part of a scam that tampered with gift cards, scanned the barcode, and stole money from the gift card while money was loaded onto the gift cards. Victims are completely unaware of what is happening and money is often diverted to an offshore account within seconds. Their investigation revealed that the operation spanned California and several regions of the country,” a press release stated.
After the tampered gift cards were returned to the shelves, unsuspecting shoppers would purchase one of the cards and load funds onto it.
The money, however, would be immediately transferred to a bank account, in this case likely a Chinese bank account, Gandhi said.
“It’s not going to be reported because are you going to confront someone who gave you a $0 gift card? No, that’s rude. And then you’re sitting there, fat and dumb and happy, thinking, ‘Oh, I did something nice for someone,’ not knowing that your money is gone,” she said.
Their investigation revealed that Sun was part of a scam that manipulated gift cards, scanned the barcode, and stole money from the gift card while money was loaded onto them. Facebook/Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office
The office said it has never seen a crime of this type before and that Sun is likely part of a larger gift card operation.
The sheriff’s office is asking the public to come forward with any information about the case.
Buyers were warned to keep an eye out for “any signs of tampering, especially marks or scratches near the barcode,” when purchasing gift cards.
“The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office urges residents to use caution when purchasing physical gift cards at any retailer,” the sheriff’s office said. “These operations are very sophisticated and modifications to gift cards are usually practically imperceptible, even to the trained eye.
“Detectives suspect Sun has done this at many stores and are asking for the public’s help to potentially link him to other crimes.”
The operation spread throughout California and several regions of the country. Facebook/Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office
Authorities are still investigating Sun and his alleged crimes.
Retail theft crimes in California have continued to increase in recent years. Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper told Fox News Digital in an interview last month that crime is “well beyond crisis level,” while blaming Proposition 47.
Voters passed Proposition 47 through a ballot initiative in 2014, which reduced charges for theft of $950 or less from felonies to misdemeanors.
Cooper is calling for a new ballot initiative to change California laws that “incentivize criminal behavior.”
“Retailers must step up and make safety in their stores a priority. Bad laws that encourage criminal behavior need to be changed, and only you, the voters, can make that happen. I have seen the surveys. It will pass overwhelmingly if put to a vote. Retailers, please step up and fund the initiative,” Cooper said in a video highlighting Operation Bad Elf this week.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn