Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office: GIFT CARD SCAM AND ARREST 2023.12.7……【Press】【U.S.】During our recent retail theft Operation Bad Elf, detectives observed an individual, later identified as Ningning Sun, acting suspiciously near the gift cards in the payment aisles in a Sacramento Target store. Detectives observed him placing all the gift cards inside his jacket, then replacing the gift cards on the rack with another set of seemingly identical ones. After Sun was stopped trying to exit the store with the stolen gift cards, detectives discovered over 5000 gift cards from Target and Apple in his possession.
Their investigation revealed Sun was part of a scam that tampered with gift cards, scanned the bar code, and stole money from the gift card as money was loaded on them. Victims are completely unaware it is happening, and the money is often siphoned to an off-shore account within seconds. Their investigation revealed that the operation spanned across California and several regions nationwide.
The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office urges residents to be cautious when purchasing physical gift cards from any retailer. Be observant of any signs of tampering, especially scuff marks or scratches near the bar code on the back of the card. These operations are very sophisticated and modifications to the gift cards are often virtually undetectable, even to the trained eye. Detectives suspect Sun has done this at many stores and are requesting the public’s help to potentially link him to other crimes.
➤【美国】萨克拉门托县治安官办公室称，一名男子因在 Target 商店篡改礼品卡而在加利福尼亚州被捕。
周三，孙宁宁在治安官为期一周的“坏精灵行动”中被捕，该行动的目标是整个萨克拉门托县的零售盗窃案。警方称，孙宁宁拥有超过 5,000 张 Target 和 Apple 礼品卡。
据哥伦比亚广播公司新闻报道，这些卡片被追踪到全州 12 个县的 54 家 Target 商店。调查人员认为，从洛杉矶到湾区和中央谷，全州塔吉特百货的货架上可能仍存有数千张欺诈性礼品卡。
目前尚不清楚孙是否有律师。
萨克拉门托治安官办公室表示，孙被捕前曾在萨克拉门托 Target 商店的支付通道中的礼品卡附近行为可疑。“侦探们观察到他将所有礼品卡放在夹克内的架子上，然后用另一套看似相同的礼品卡替换了礼品卡。” 孙在带着偷来的礼品卡试图离开商店时遇到了质问。
治安官办公室表示，他们的调查显示，Sun 参与了横跨加州和全国其他几个地区的礼品卡诈骗。该骗局涉及篡改扫描礼品卡上的条形码并窃取其中的金额
治安官办公室表示：“受害者完全没有意识到事情正在发生，钱往往在几秒钟内就被转移到离岸账户。”
当局已向那些从零售商处购买礼品卡的人发出警告，并建议他们在购买时要小心谨慎，并观察是否有任何被篡改的迹象，例如卡背面条形码附近的磨损痕迹或划痕。
治安官办公室表示：“这些操作非常复杂，即使对受过训练的人来说，对礼品卡的修改通常也几乎无法察觉。”
治安官办公室还建议完全避免购买礼品卡。
与此同时，塔吉特在一份声明中表示，他们已经意识到这些骗局，并非常严肃地对待它们。

Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office （萨克拉门托县治安官办公室）
2023.12.7周四08:42
GIFT CARD SCAM AND ARREST
During our recent retail theft Operation Bad Elf, detectives observed an individual, later identified as Ningning Sun, acting suspiciously near the gift cards in the payment aisles in a Sacramento Target store. Detectives observed him placing all the gift cards inside his jacket, then replacing the gift cards on the rack with another set of seemingly identical ones. After Sun was stopped trying to exit the store with the stolen gift cards, detectives discovered over 5000 gift cards from Target and Apple in his possession.
Their investigation revealed Sun was part of a scam that tampered with gift cards, scanned the bar code, and stole money from the gift card as money was loaded on them. Victims are completely unaware it is happening, and the money is often siphoned to an off-shore account within seconds. Their investigation revealed that the operation spanned across California and several regions nationwide.
The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office urges residents to be cautious when purchasing physical gift cards from any retailer. Be observant of any signs of tampering, especially scuff marks or scratches near the bar code on the back of the card. These operations are very sophisticated and modifications to the gift cards are often virtually undetectable, even to the trained eye. Detectives suspect Sun has done this at many stores and are requesting the public’s help to potentially link him to other crimes.
This investigation is still ongoing, and detectives are asking anyone with information about this incident to contact the Sheriff’s Office at (916) 874-5115 or Sacramento Valley Crime Stoppers at (916) 443-HELP (4357). Tips leading to additional charges are eligible for a CASH reward of up to $1000, and tipsters remain anonymous. Tips are paid in cash, and you are never asked for identification. Contact Sacramento Valley Crime Stoppers at (916) 443-HELP (4357), 1-800-AA-CRIME, or **TIPS. Use the “P3 TIPS” app or online at www.sacvalleycrimestoppers.com. Tip information may also be left anonymously at www.sacsheriff.com or by calling (916) 874-TIPS (8477).

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Sacramento sheriff’s office issues warning after uncovering gift card scam involving Target stores statewide
sacramento
UPDATED ON: DECEMBER 8, 2023 / 3:35 PM PST / CBS SACRAMENTO

SACRAMENTO – The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office is sharing a warning for shoppers buying gift cards this holiday season.

The warning comes following an arrest of a suspect connected to a massive gift card scam involving more than 50 Targets across the state.

The discovery happened during “Operation Bad Elf.” Undercover officers were placed at Target stores in Sacramento to help curb organized retail theft.

During one of their operations last week, investigators noticed a man acting suspiciously at a gift card rack.

Authorities say the suspect was taking cards off the rack, doing something to them and then putting them back on the rack.

Officers confronted the man outside of the store and found more than 200 cards on him with more than 5,000 Target and Apple gift cards inside his car.

“If it hadn’t been for ‘Operation Bad Elf,’ if we hadn’t been at that location, that specific Target would have been a victim of it,” Detective David Derouen said.

The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office identified the suspect as Ningning Sun. They said he has lived in various locations throughout California and neighboring states.

The cards were traced to 54 Target stores in 12 counties across the state. Investigators say there could be thousands of fraudulent gift cards still on racks in Targets spanning from Los Angeles, the Bay Area and Central Valley.

“[Retailers] need to put these behind the shelves, they need to control access to them, or they need to completely take them off the shelf,” Detective Andy Cater said.

The scam works by taking the gift card’s barcode, replacing it with another and sealing it back up and waiting until a customer purchases it.

“When the consumer goes to check out, the cashier is loading the consumer’s funds to that barcode but it’s not to the physical card the consumer is holding, it’s to the card the scammers own,” said Daniel Stiner, with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) Sacramento.

The BBB Sacramento says the best way to avoid becoming a victim is to meticulously examine the card before buying. If there are any tears on the paper, discard it and find another.

Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office suggests avoiding buying gift cards altogether.

CBS13 has reached out to Target but has not yet heard back from them.

Since this story has aired, Target has responded to our inquiry. See the company’s statement below.

“We are aware of the prevalence of gift card scams and take them very seriously. We have signs in our stores and share general safety tips with our team members so they can stay alert and help guests as best as they can at our registers. Our centralized cyber fraud team helps educate our team members about common scams and encourages them to look for guests purchasing high dollar amounts or large quantities of gift cards, or tampering with gift cards in stores. We appreciate law enforcement’s action on this case and will assist them with their investigation.”

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Man arrested after Target gift cards tampered with in California, shoppers warned
USA TODAY
Published: 1:41 p.m. ET Dec. 7, 2023 Updated: 4:22 p.m. ET Dec. 7, 2023

A man was arrested in California for tampering with gift cards at a Target store, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office said.

Ningning Sun was arrested on Wednesday during the sheriff’s weeklong Operation Bad Elf, which targeted retail theft throughout Sacramento County. Police found more than 5,000 gift cards from Target and Apple in Sun’s possession, they said.

The cards were traced to 54 Target stores in 12 counties across the state, according to CBS News. Investigators believe that thousands of fraudulent gift cards could still be on racks in Targets across the state from Los Angeles to the Bay Area and the Central Valley.

It’s unclear whether Sun has an attorney.

Suspect was caught ‘acting suspiciously’ near gift cards in Target store
The Sacramento’s Sheriff’s office said that Sun was seen acting suspiciously near the gift cards in the payment aisles in a Sacramento Target store before his arrest.

“Detectives observed him placing all the gift cards on a rack inside his jacket, then replacing the gift cards with another set of seemingly identical ones,” said the sheriff’s office. Sun was confronted while trying to exit the store with the stolen gift cards.

The sheriff’s office said that their investigation revealed that Sun was part of a gift card scam spanning across California and several other regions nationwide. The scam involves tampering scanning the bar code on gift cards and stealing the money loaded on them

“Victims are completely unaware it is happening, and the money is often siphoned to an off-shore account within seconds,” said the sheriff’s office.

Shoppers warned over Target gift card scam
Authorities have issued a warning to those purchasing gift cards from retailers and have advised them to exercise caution while purchasing and observe any signs of tampering, such as scuff marks or scratches near the bar code on the back of the card.

“These operations are very sophisticated and modifications to the gift cards are often virtually undetectable, even to the trained eye,” said the sheriff’s office.

The sheriff’s office has also suggested avoiding buying gift cards altogether.

Target responds to scam
Meanwhile, Target said in a statement that they are aware of the scams and take them very seriously.

“We have signs in our stores and share general safety tips with our team members so they can stay alert and help guests as best as they can at our registers,” the company told USA TODAY. “Our centralized cyber fraud team helps educate our team members about common scams and encourages them to look for guests purchasing high dollar amounts or large quantities of gift cards, or tampering with gift cards in stores.”

The statement added that, “We appreciate law enforcement’s action on this case and will assist them with their investigation.”

Target gift card scam: Investigation ongoing
An investigation into the scam is ongoing and detectives suspect that Sun has carried out similar activities at other stores and are requesting the public’s help in the investigation.

Anyone with information on this is requested to contact the Sheriff’s Office at (916) 874-5115 or Sacramento Valley Crime Stoppers at (916) 443-HELP (4357) or online via their websites. Tips leading to additional charges are eligible for a cash reward of up to $1000, and tipsters can remain anonymous. Tips are paid in cash, and no identities are asked.