 According to recent reporting by ProPublica, gift card scams are actually oftentimes tied to larger Chinese organized crime rings. ProPublica found that the Department of Homeland Security actually launched a never-before-reported-on task force to combat a scheme known as card draining, which is when thieves use stolen or altered card numbers to steal money before you can even spend it. Look at this video of Florida police arresting these two people possession of over 50 counterfeit gift cards, intent to defraud over $50,000 and over 1700 counts of possession of stolen gift cards. Walmart and other big retailers are hotspots for gift card fraud and Target alone has seen $300 million stolen from customers due to card draining. Americans are also expected to spend more than $200 billion on gift cards this year alone. A recent survey found that almost a quarter of Americans have given or received a gift card with no balance on it. More than half said they couldn't get a credit or a refund. And between 2019 and 2023, Americans lost close to $1 billion due to card draining and other gift card scams. Over the past 18 months, law enforcement has arrested about 100 people for card draining, 80 to 90 of whom are Chinese nationals or Chinese Americans, according to a source from Homeland Security Investigations. The source estimates that another thousand people could be involved in card draining in the U.S., mostly as runners for the gangs. Head to the link in our bio to find out more about how gift card scams have become Chinese organized crimes' latest U.S. Target.