Officers arrested two people accused of a huge scam targeting gift card buyers, police say.
Plano police arrested Xiaohong Zhang and Xiongling Chen in connection to a bust in which they seized more than 4,000 gift cards from retailers like Amazon, Foot Locker, Apple, and Sephora.
The scam is called "gift card draining." The scammers steal the gift cards and their PIN codes from retailers, "unseal" them, take down the information, and then put them back on the shelf so they do not appear to have been tampered with. Then, when a customer buys a card, the scammers steal the funds loaded on it, draining it before the customer can use it.
The cards were stolen from stores like Walmart, HEB, Walgreens, CVS, Tom Thumb, and Albertsons. Plano police said the cooperation of these retailers was vital to cracking the case.
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Tell your Smart Speaker to "PLAY 1080 KRLD"
Sign Up to receive our KRLD Insider Newsletter for more news
Follow us on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube