Two people were arrested in Ventura County for stealing hundreds of gift cards in a suspected “card draining” theft scheme.
The suspects were identified as Tingxiang Yang, 39 and Lingyu Chen, 35, by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office.
On May 10, detectives conducted an undercover blitz operation at a retail store located on the 800 block of New Los Angeles Avenue in Moorpark.
A “blitz” is an operation where undercover detectives and uniformed deputies collaborate with store loss prevention workers to identify and arrest theft suspects.
During the operation, store security alerted undercover officers of two men who were seen removing a large amount of gift cards from a store display and hiding them inside a bag.
When the men exited the store, they were immediately detained by detectives.
During the arrest, around 800 stolen gift cards were discovered. Authorities believe the cards were taken from several nearby stores, in addition to the Moorpark store.
“The gift card thefts are believed to be directly linked to an organized theft tactic called ‘card draining,’” officials said.
Photos of the bust show the majority of gift cards were from Apple, Target, Visa and Razer Gold and were being sold for anywhere between $25 to $200 each card.
Through card draining, thieves remove gift cards from store shelves, open them up and either record the card numbers along with the PINs (Personal Identification Numbers) or replace them with new barcodes.
The thieves will then repair the packaging and place the gift cards back on the store shelves they were taken from.
When a customer purchases and loads money onto one of the compromised cards, the thieves can access that card online and steal the balance before the customer realizes what has happened.
“These types of thefts have already led to millions of dollars in losses around the nation to victims who unknowingly bought the compromised gift cards,” deputies said.
Both suspects were arrested on felony charges of conspiracy to commit organized retail theft. They both posted a $20,000 bail and were later released. A court hearing is scheduled for May 24 at Ventura County Superior Court.
The incident remains under investigation by the Ventura County Organized Retail Theft Task Force.
“The task force aims to provide a safe environment for everyone while working hand in hand with retailers, law enforcement agencies and the public to identify, locate and arrest the criminals involved in these types of crimes,” officials said.
Anyone with information on the theft or similar cases is asked to call the Ventura County Task Force at 805-383-8703.
Anonymous tips can be provided to L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at lacrimestoppers.org.