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Two women charged in connection with ‘gift card scam ring’ in Braintree
The gift card scam involves recording barcodes and PINs and returning them to stores to use the funds purchased by an unsuspecting customer.
Two women were charged Monday after Braintree police found more than 4,000 gift cards from popular brands, allegedly to complete a scam, officials said.
YanYan Liu and Na Dong of Flushing, N.Y., pleaded not guilty in court Tuesday to shoplifting and receiving stolen property after Braintree police allegedly found 4,617 Apple, Nike, Sephora, and Visa gift cards in their vehicle.
Braintree police said they initially responded to the CVS on Grove Street to reports of two women removing gift cards from the display rack. The police then located the vehicle and “eventually discovered 4 bags” full of gift cards.
The Braintree police said to execute the scam, perpetrators record barcodes and PIN numbers for stolen gift cards. Then, the gift cards are repackaged and returned to stores. When someone purchases the compromised cards, the scammers then use a database to track available funds to spend online. Were the victim to try to use their gift card, they would find a $0 balance.
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This type of scam is happening across the United States, Braintree police said.
The two women are due back in Quincy District Court for a pretrial hearing next Friday.
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