The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office is warning the public about a disturbing and “highly sophisticated” gift card scam that has national and international implications.
The sheriff’s office told Fox News Digital this week it conducted a massive anti-retail theft operation at big-box stores across the county, resulting in 285 felony and misdemeanor arrests in seven days.
Among those arrested was a Chinese national who was found to be 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 a gift card in the checkout aisle at a Sacramento Target store,” the sheriff’s office said in a press release today.
The office said investigators saw Sun take all the gift cards off the shelves at the Target store and stuff them into his jacket.
Authorities said the suspect then replaced the missing cards with “another set that looked identical.”
Members of the sheriff’s office followed the suspect outside, where recently released footage shows detectives surrounding the man to make an arrest.
Ningning Sun was arrested after police saw her acting suspiciously near a gift card in the checkout lane at a Sacramento Target store. Facebook/Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office
“The guy exploded 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.
After the arrest, detectives went to Sun’s car and found thousands of Apple and Target gift cards.
Gandhi explained that the suspect would retrieve a valid gift card from a store shelf and “surgically remove” the glue covering the card’s barcode.
He would then allegedly record the PIN, re-hide the barcode with glue and return the card to the storage rack.
Detectives found over 5000 gift cards from Target and Apple in his possession. Facebook/Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office
“[The] The investigation revealed Sun was part of a scam that tampered with gift cards, scanned barcodes and stole money from gift cards because money had been loaded onto them. Victims are completely unaware it’s happening, and the money is often funneled into offshore accounts within seconds. Their investigation revealed that the operation spanned all of California and several regions across the country,” the press release said.
After the tampered gift card is returned to the shelf, an unsuspecting shopper will then purchase one of the cards and load funds onto it.
The money, however, will be immediately transferred to a bank account, in this case probably a Chinese bank account, Gandhi said.
“It’s going to go unreported because are you going to face someone who gives you a $0 gift card? No, that’s rude. And then you sit there fat, stupid and happy, thinking, ‘Oh, I did something good for someone,’ not knowing that your money is gone,” he said.
Their investigation revealed Sun was part of a scam that tampered with gift cards, scanned barcodes, and stole money from gift cards as money was put on them. Facebook/Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office
The office said it had never seen such a crime before, and Sun may have been part of a larger gift card operation.
The sheriff’s office is asking the public to come forward with any tips on the case.
Buyers are warned to be on the lookout for “any signs of tampering, especially scratches or scuffs near barcodes,” when purchasing gift cards.
“The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office urges residents to exercise caution when purchasing physical gift cards from any retailer,” the sheriff’s office said. “These operations are highly sophisticated, and modifications to gift cards are often almost undetectable, even to the trained eye.
“Detectives suspect Sun has done this at multiple stores and are asking for the public’s help to potentially link him to other crimes.”
The operation spans across California and several regions across 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 rise in recent years. Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper told Fox News Digital in an interview last month that crime is “far beyond crisis levels,” blaming Proposition 47.
Voters passed Prop 47 through a ballot initiative in 2014, which downgraded shoplifting charges for theft of $950 or less from a felony to a misdemeanor.
Cooper is calling for a new ballot initiative to change California laws that “incentivize criminal behavior.”
“Retailers need to improve and make security in their stores a priority. Bad laws that incentivize criminal behavior need to be changed, and only you, the voters, can do that. I have seen the polls. It would pass with flying colors if put on the ballot. Retailers, step up and fund the initiative,” Cooper said in a video highlighting Operation Bad Elf this week.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
