Multi-Agency Sting Takes Down Gift Card Tampering Ring Hitting Major Retailers

A multi-agency investigation recently took down a gift card tampering ring that targeted Walmart, Target and Walgreens locations across multiple states, with suspects arrested in the case, according to TheStreet.

In the scam, known as gift card draining, fraudsters remove inactivated cards from store shelves, record or photograph the card numbers and PINs, then return the cards to the rack. Once a customer buys and activates a tampered card, scammers monitor it online and drain the funds as soon as it's loaded, leaving the buyer with a zero balance.

"We're talking hundreds of millions of dollars, potentially billions of dollars, [and] that's a substantial risk to our economy and to people's confidence in their retail environment," Adam Parks, a Homeland Security assistant special agent in charge, told ProPublica, according to TheStreet.