Advertisement
Gift card scammers: How the U.S. is cracking down on fraud
ResumeThe Department of Homeland Security has launched a task force to crack down on gift card fraud.
The grift goes like this: Criminals steal gift cards from a store display, copy the numbers and slap on a new barcode. Then they place the cards back on a rack, ready for an unwitting customer to load their own money onto a tampered card that the criminal can steal.
Federal agents say the scheme is coordinated and tied to Chinese organized crime.
Here & Now's Robin Young speaks with ProPublica reporter Craig Silverman.
This segment aired on April 17, 2024.