TPD Investigation Leads to Gift Card Scam Indictment
An investigation by the Tuscaloosa Police Department and U-S Secret Service has led to a federal grand jury in Birmingham indictment of a Chinese national. 40-year-old Xiebin Xue. He has been charged with possessing counterfeit gift cards according to U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona. The maximum penalty is 10 years in prison.
According to a press release from the Northern District of Alabama, a one-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges the Birmingham resident with possession of fifteen or more counterfeit or unauthorized access devices.
The indictment states, "On January 10, 2024, Xue was found in possession of at least 33 gift cards that had been re-encoded with card numbers different from the card numbers printed on the cards and at least two gift cards that bore fake bar code labels that did not match the printed and encoded numbers on the cards.
The maximum penalty for the charged offense is 10-years imprisonment. Assistant United States Attorney Brett A. Janich is prosecuting the case.
Earlier this year there was a similar case involving Chinese nationals possessing fake gift cards in Hoover. A Federal grand jury in Birmingham in July returned an indictment charging Jiadong Cao, 36, and Xuejun Zheng, 48 with possessing counterfeit devices. According to court documents, the defendants engaged in a retail scheme to steal funds from gift cards purchased by consumers at various retail stores.
According to the Better Business Burau there are several things that can be done to prevent being scammed by fake gift cards.
- Buy directly from trusted retail stores,
- Inspect cards for tampering such as scratched-off codes and loose cover,
- Treat the PIN number like cash, keep receipts, and
- use cards quickly to prevent scammers from stealing the balance.
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