Recently, three Chinese individuals residing in New York have been arrested in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and North Carolina for their alleged involvement in various fraudulent activities, including credit card and gift card scams, forgery, and impersonating law enforcement officers to extort cash. Among the arrested, two individuals hail from Flushing, New York, while the third holds a New York state driver’s license.
The first case took place in Connecticut. According to information released by the Wilton Police on their Facebook page, a 35-year-old man from Flushing, identified as Wang Chunlin (phonetic translation), was accused of tampering with 36 gift cards outside a CVS pharmacy in Wilton. He faces 36 counts of second-degree forgery and one count of second-degree theft.
On the day of the incident, police officers received a tip-off and proceeded to investigate a suspicious man sitting in a car outside the CVS on Ridgefield Road who was in possession of a large number of gift cards. Upon arrival, authorities found Wang using a Dremel-like power tool to scrape the protective foil from the serial numbers of the gift cards. Noticing the officers approaching, he attempted to conceal the relevant items inside his vehicle.
A further search of the vehicle revealed 36 gift cards along with tools and materials used to open the card packaging, remove covers, and repackage them. Investigators suspect that Wang had manipulated the cards in this manner prior to selling them, restoring the packaging to give the appearance of unopened products.
This type of fraud typically occurs when consumers purchase gift cards and load them with funds. Scammers then exploit previously obtained card information or PIN codes to steal the money. Police urge the public to carefully inspect gift card packaging for signs of tampering, to be alert for visible PIN codes or serial numbers, and to check whether protective coverings have been removed or altered. Any suspicious circumstances should be reported to store personnel immediately.
In a report by Pennsylvania’s FOX43 television station, a 34-year-old woman named Zhao Junya (phonetic translation), who resides in Flushing, was implicated in a scheme where she allegedly utilized stolen or leaked credit card information to purchase gift cards at GIANT Food supermarket through Apple Pay. The police stated that she, along with a male accomplice, conducted multiple transactions in Harrisburg and Mechanicsburg, totaling $1,217, leading to a supermarket loss of $939. Zhao has been charged with illegal payment device fraud and theft by deception, and she remains incarcerated at Dauphin County Prison due to being unable to post bail.
In addition, Fox Carolina reported on another individual, Dong Feng (phonetic translation), a citizen from China holding a New York state driver’s license and residing in North Carolina. He allegedly impersonated a law enforcement officer, intimidating an elderly man under the pretext that there was an active arrest warrant against the victim, demanding a bail payment. Following his instructions, the victim handed over $22,000 at a Family Dollar store. Dong was arrested on November 11 in Cabarrus County, facing charges of extortion and obtaining property by fraudulent means, with a bail set at $175,000. Authorities indicated that ICE has issued a detainer for him.
Law enforcement officials remind the public to verify any phone calls that claim to involve arrest warrants or demand cash payments by contacting police or relevant government agencies directly. It is crucial not to comply with payment requests from unfamiliar callers.