The City of Campbell Police Department recently reported an arrest involving a gift card scam operation last Saturday. According to the Campbell Police Department, two suspects, Jian Chen, 45, of Rosemead, and Bifeng Xie, 32, of Riverside, were apprehended for altering and placing tampered gift cards on store displays. Chen was caught putting doctored cards on a store stand, while Xie was found waiting in their vehicle, where the police discovered upward of 500 additional gift cards from various retailers.
The scam involved the theft of empty gift cards, from which Chen and Xie retrieved card numbers and PIN information to replace them in stores for unsuspecting customers to purchase and load with money. It was later unveiled that Chen matched a suspect description for the same crime out of Santa Clara. They were booked at Santa Clara County jail for obtaining money under pretenses and conspiracy to commit a crime.
This scam exemplifies a rising trend where scammers quickly drain the balance of a gift card once a customer loads it with funds. The Campbell Police Department has issued advice on how to avoid falling victim to such scams: purchasing gift cards online to avoid physical tampering, closely inspecting cards before buying, avoiding cards that show signs of tampering, keeping receipts with their respective gift cards, and using the cards promptly.
