Posted on 07/28/2025 11:27:59 AM PDT by TigerClaws
PELHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - Federal investigators are charging two Chinese citizens with possessing counterfeit devices after they say they found altered gift cards in the pair’s SUV amidst boxes containing more than 5,000 gift cards.
The investigation began on June 20, when the manager at CVS location in Hoover says he saw Jiadong Cao and Xuejun Zheng enter the store and swap out about 25 gift cards from a kiosk with cards they had brought into the store. Among the brands allegedly swapped: Nike, Macy’s and Best Buy.
The store manager saw the pair leaving in a gray Lexus SUV and gave Hoover police the tag number, and Hoover put out a Be On the Look Out (BOLO) for the SUV. The next day, Saturday, June 21, Pelham Police spotted the SUV and pulled it over after a traffic violation.
Inside, police say they found boxes stuffed with 5,078 gift cards, at least 15 of them Home Depot cards that the company confirms were altered.
Cao and Zheng are in custody in the Shelby County Jail, and federal investigators allege Cao is in the U.S. illegally, and Zheng is here on a status of Protected/Asylum.
These sorts of crimes should be forced very hard labor—for years.
“protected asylum”
meaning: Chinese criminal gangs transported them into Panama, through the Darian Gap, and to the Mexican border. when they show up, they claim they are Christian and that Xi Jinping wants to kill them.
They were probably given fake IDs by their bosses, so they could draw on all kinds of Fed.gov benefits, and then given instructions on running this scam and funneling the cash back to Hong Kong, Macau or wherever.
I got my son a Home Depot gift card for Christmas and mailed it to him along with his Christmas card. He called me about a month after Christmas saying the card had already been redeemed. I am VERY careful about noticing whether the packaging had been tampered with and my recollection was this card’s packaging was pristine. They must have some technology that is able to scan or read through material or slide under the packaging to read whatever needs to be read for redemption.
He is here on protected asylum. Except for summer vacations when it’s back to China. But keeps his Section 8 free apartment
I never heard of the gift card scam until a few months ago. Now I notice as I walk past them the card kiosks all say they are being watched by cameras and people should look out for fraudulent use of them.
https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/avoiding-and-reporting-gift-card-scams
CCP backed DNC funding operation now that their grifter laundromats have been shut down ?
I do electronic delivery for gift cards for just about anyone unless I can hand deliver.
Treat them like Uighur slaves to erase their century of shame.
Just two of thousands
RE: He called me about a month after Christmas saying the card had already been redeemed.
“Stolen gift card codes
Scammers obtain gift card numbers and PINs by copying them from cards in stores. Some cards have a silver strip covering the PIN, which criminals remove to copy the card details. Afterward, they replace the strip with a similar-looking sticker and wait for trusting customers to buy them.
The scammer then tracks the card online to see when it’s activated. Once someone purchases the card — whether it’s a card with a set limit or one where the purchaser determines the amount — the fraudster will hurry to spend those funds before the purchaser can.”
Two Chinese Nationals welcomed to America by the Biden Administration !
In this case they swapped them with others, sounds like they were tampered with (per article) but we can probably presume that they are sophisticated enough to be able to reproduce the packaging perfectly.
I believe 1 to 10 years, depending on the crime, at hard labor, not surfing the net nor weight lifting nor karate but actual working as road gang repair crews, would convince many would be criminals to rethink their futures.
I guess there must be hundreds of thousands of other cards, now we have to find out who has them.
I got scammed with that trick....castrate the clowns, then make them pay off their stolen money with prison labor ..
They expertly remove the glue ..then scrape off a few ID numbers on the card. Then they expertly reglue the package...they have the cards real number in their database.
When someone puts cash on the card with the stores cashier, and goes to activate it for themselves...they cannot because they don’t know the full ID number
Once card is activated at the cashier, the thieves are notified and immediately transfer the funds into a foreign bank.
This happened to me. Big thievery season is Christmas. Just give the cash to intended recipient.....
Now Luke, why is that dirt in boss Kings hole?
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