Thousands of cloned gift cards seized in Arizona; AG says suspects bought guns, TVs, Red Bull
PHOENIX - The Arizona Attorney General has a warning for anyone buying gift cards for the holidays: fraudsters are tampering with them, often leaving the buyer empty-handed.
Gift cards are popular these days and this can happen to anyone. You buy a card, put money on it, not knowing it's sending a signal to a swindler, ready to snatch your cash.
Gift card cloning is happening in several states. Con artists copy the magnetic strip, then put the card back on the store shelf. When the card is activated, the grifter gets a notification, and spends the money before the consumer can.
A retail theft task force recently arrested eight people and seized thousands of cloned cards.
Attorney General Kris Mayes says the grinches bought guns, TVs, and even Red Bull drinks that they would turn around and sell to strip clubs.
Mayes showed some of the items at a news conference on December 8.
"More than 10,000 of these cloned gift cards here in Arizona this week. Obviously, we know that’s just the tip of the iceberg and this was a multi-state operation."
What is the 'card draining' scam? Police warn holiday shoppers purchasing gift cards
Shoppers buying gifts cards for friends and family this holiday season are being urged to carefully examine the cards to avoid a new scam.
How to make sure it doesn't happen to you
Daniel Hall found out the hard way after buying gift cards for employees at a Scottsdale CVS store.
"Gave the employees gift cards and he happened to open it, and when he opened it, he noticed the numbers were scratched, so he used the barcode to look online to see if it had been loaded or anything, and it had a zero balance on it," said Hall.
He isn't alone.
"When people buy the gift card, they are actually buying something that is immediately drained when the individual when a person buys them at the checkout counter," said Mayes.
CVS helped Hall get his money back so it will be another happy holidays where he works. But he worries about others not being so lucky.
"I have the ability to recover from that. But what about a family that is living paycheck to paycheck? And they come in here and buy a card. They’re getting someone a Christmas gift, and it’s not."
Hall and Mayes have the same advice: make sure the packaging hasn't been tampered with. And make sure the numbers on the card match the numbers on the receipt.
The Attorney General is also encouraging stores to put gift cards behind the counter to keep them safe.