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Chinese nationals arrested in AL, charged with having over 5,000 counterfeit gift cards
Posted on 7/28/25 at 1:10 pm
Posted on 7/28/25 at 1:10 pm
LINK
quote:
PELHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - Federal investigators are charging two Chinese citizens with possessing counterfeit devices after they say they found altered gift cards in the pair’s SUV amidst boxes containing more than 5,000 gift cards.
The investigation began on June 20, when the manager at CVS location in Hoover says he saw Jiadong Cao and Xuejun Zheng enter the store and swap out about 25 gift cards from a kiosk with cards they had brought into the store. Among the brands allegedly swapped: Nike, Macy’s and Best Buy.
The store manager saw the pair leaving in a gray Lexus SUV and gave Hoover police the tag number, and Hoover put out a Be On the Look Out (BOLO) for the SUV. The next day, Saturday, June 21, Pelham Police spotted the SUV and pulled it over after a traffic violation.
Inside, police say they found boxes stuffed with 5,078 gift cards, at least 15 of them Home Depot cards that the company confirms were altered.
quote:
Cao and Zheng are in custody in the Shelby County Jail, and federal investigators allege Cao is in the U.S. illegally, and Zheng is here on a status of Protected/Asylum.
18
Posted on 7/28/25 at 1:12 pm to East Coast Band
Word is they got a call that some Indian police officer who was going to arrest them unless they sent $15K in Apple gift cards to pay off the warrant
Posted on 7/28/25 at 1:12 pm to East Coast Band
quote:
Chinese nationals
It's down to Chinese vs Nigerians for scammers of the year.
Posted on 7/28/25 at 1:13 pm to East Coast Band
quote:
enter the store and swap out about 25 gift cards from a kiosk with cards they had brought into the store
Wondering how this works. The real gift cards don't load until at the register.
ETA: Apparently, there's a thing called an "exchange kiosk" that the poors use to cash in their gift cards for a small fee.
quote:
Gift card exchange kiosks are self-service machines, often found in retail locations, that allow you to exchange unwanted gift cards for cash or store credit. These kiosks typically verify the gift card's balance and authenticity before making a cash offer. While convenient, they generally offer less than the full face value of the gift card due to fees.
This post was edited on 7/28/25 at 1:17 pm
Posted on 7/28/25 at 1:14 pm to East Coast Band
is it safe to assume how they managed to enter the country?
Posted on 7/28/25 at 1:16 pm to Commandeaux
quote:
It's down to Chinese vs Nigerians for scammers of the year.
There's a frickton more Chinese ones.
Posted on 7/28/25 at 1:17 pm to East Coast Band
And they will deport them instead of prosecuting them
Posted on 7/28/25 at 1:18 pm to Shexter
quote:
Wondering how this works. The real gift cards don't load until at the register.
Its becoming pretty common
quote:
How the Scam Works
1. Counterfeit or Tampered Gift Cards Placed in Stores
Criminals create cloned or altered gift cards—often encoding them with known or stolen access numbers and PINs—and place them back on store racks. These cards appear legitimate to customers.
2. Cash Loading by Unsuspecting Buyers
A shopper buys one of these tampered cards and pays to load money onto it at the register. While the card appears new and untouched, the scammer already possesses the working card number and PIN.
3. Immediate Draining of the Balance
Once activated, the card's balance is quickly drained by the scammer—often within minutes—before the buyer even attempts to use it.
4. Conversion into Cash or Merchandise
Scammers don’t use the card at retail. Instead, they:
Purchase high-value items like electronics and ship them overseas for resale.
Sell the stolen card balances on gray-market websites at a discount.
Convert card balances into cryptocurrency or use them for digital purchases to launder the money.
Posted on 7/28/25 at 1:18 pm to Shexter
quote:
Wondering how this works. The real gift cards don't load until at the register.
I was wondering the same. I think maybe the cards they are putting in the store have been set up so when they are loaded at the register the criminals can acess the money online. The ones they steal they use to alter and will put them back in another store when they have been doctored.
Posted on 7/28/25 at 1:23 pm to Shexter
So is this machine just conveniently helping scammers and gift card crooks, or was that part of the business model?
Posted on 7/28/25 at 1:46 pm to Klark Kent
quote:
So is this machine just conveniently helping scammers and gift card crooks, or was that part of the business model?
Seems nefarious at the surface but was most likely designed for people who ask for gift cards or cash at holidays or receive gift cards from employers and want to use the funds towards something else.
Posted on 7/28/25 at 1:47 pm to East Coast Band
They weren’t stolen, that’s how they got paid for getting all those grandkids out of jail
Posted on 7/28/25 at 1:54 pm to East Coast Band
quote:
Jiadong Cao and Xuejun Zheng
I will call them George and Billy.
Posted on 7/28/25 at 1:58 pm to East Coast Band
Me chinese me play joke me use fake gift card cause we broke
Posted on 7/28/25 at 1:59 pm to East Coast Band
deport
Posted on 7/28/25 at 1:59 pm to Shexter
quote:
Wondering how this works. The real gift cards don't load until at the register.
One of the scams they use is to get all the numbers from a bunch of cards and even replace the tamper-proof sliver thing covering pin/number info. They put them back into stores.
They have software that scrapes the gift card site so they know the moment it has been activated. They either use it online or even just make a copy. Since most gift cards are given as gifts, it goes unnoticed.
Had it happen to my kid. Given a card in Georgia, and it was used within minutes of purchase in California at a Target.
It took a minute, but the gift card company relented and sent us a replacement once they were convinced my 10 year old hadn't mastered teleportation.
Posted on 7/28/25 at 2:04 pm to bad93ex
quote:
So is this machine just conveniently helping scammers and gift card crooks, or was that part of the business model?
Seems nefarious at the surface but was most likely designed for people who ask for gift cards or cash at holidays or receive gift cards from employers and want to use the funds towards something else.
This... I have so many unused, unwanted Applebee's gift cards- didn't know I could trade them in for less value at a coin star or other kiosk. Good to know!
Posted on 7/28/25 at 2:17 pm to stout
Wow that's crazy!
Posted on 7/28/25 at 2:18 pm to East Coast Band
Gift cards are a hige problem for businesses. I wish one would never walk through my door
Posted on 7/28/25 at 3:23 pm to East Coast Band
chinese mfers always doing some scandalous shite.
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