Security News > 2021 > October > Gift card fraud: four suspects hit with money laundering charges
Gift card fraud still fills a distressing niche in the cybercrime ecosystem, where a gang of crooks redeem gift cards that you paid for, either because you were convinced that those cards were earmarked for something else, or because the crooks got temporary access to one of your online accounts that allowed them to buy gift cards on your dime.
The US Department of Justice announced this week the indictment of four suspected gift card scammers, and alleges that that these four had ended up with more than 5000 fradulently obtained cards to spend on themselves.
For each user, hundreds in all, the crooks attempted to buy gift card after gift card, for which they needed to supply little more than an email address for the recipient of the "Gift".
Asking for gift cards no doubt feels more intimate, and is perhaps less widely linked with fraud in victims' minds, than the old-school approach of demanding cash money paid via a wire transfer service.
Obtained over 5,000 gift cards from a group known as the "Magic Lamp." caused the gift cards to be distributed to "Runners" like , who used the funds on the cards at Target stores in Los Angeles and Orange County and elsewhere to purchase, among other items, consumer electronics and other gift cards.
There is no reason to purchase a gift card to resolve a problem with an account, your Social Security number or a supposed criminal case.