Two arrested in 'draining' scheme involving 4,100 tampered gift cards: What to know about the scam

Two people from California were arrested in Texas in a "gift card draining" scheme that involved multiple stores in the state.

Authorities seized over 4,100 "tampered" gift cards from Apple, Sephora, Amazon and Footlocker, according to police in Plano, about 20 miles north of Dallas.

"Removing these tampered gift cards from the suspects saved consumers over $649,000.00 in possible scammed funds," said police in a statement.

So far, police have only confirmed the two arrests mentioned, but they believe the scam reaches outside the state of Texas.

Plano police said officers worked with Secret Service and Immigration and Customs Enforcement to investigate the scam throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Investigators used surveilled the two people placing tampered gift cards back on shelves in multiple stores in north Texas, local outlet Fox 4 reported. They were charged with with unlawful use of a criminal instrument.

Police ask anyone with information to call their tip line, 972-941-5555.

What scams should you know about?Don't say yes when caller asks 'Can you hear me now?'

What is gift card draining?

Authorities across the country issued warnings about the scam during the holidays, because that's when they see an increase in victims.

As previously reported by USA TODAY, gift card draining is when fraudsters obtain copies of physical gift cards from stores, tamper with them, then scan and record an unpurchased card's number.

Once that's done, they place it back on the shelves of retail stores and drain the card once someone buys and adds funds to it, leaving those who bought the card or its recipient without any funds.

How to avoid being scammed

Consumers planning on buying gift cards should look for any signs of tampering, like scuff marks or scratches near the barcode on the back of the card, to make sure they don't become victims of a gift card draining scheme.

Representatives from the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office previously suggested people avoid buying gift cards altogether to avoid being scammed.

Contributing: Mary Walrath-Holdridge, Gabe Hauari, Saman Shafiq; USA TODAY

Julia is a trending reporter for USA TODAY. She has covered various topics, from local businesses and government in her hometown, Miami, to tech and pop culture. You can follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, Instagram and TikTok: @juliamariegz