Gift Card Fraud: Emerging Trends & Risks

METRORCA 2025 Fall Training Day

The emerging landscape of Gift Card Fraud is increasingly dominated by Chinese Organized Retail Crime (ORC) groups employing sophisticated, multi-stage schemes. One primary trend is gift card draining, where criminals steal un-activated cards, tamper with the packaging to capture the card and PIN information, and then place the compromised cards back on store shelves. Once an unwitting customer purchases and activates the card, the ORC group instantly monitors and drains the funds, which are then often laundered through the purchase of high-value goods for export. A separate but growing threat is Tap 2 Pay fraud, where criminals use phishing and social engineering to trick victims into providing information, only for the fraudsters to manipulate the contactless payment process to purchase multiple gift cards. These brazen tactics highlight a critical need for enhanced retail security, consumer vigilance, and cross-border law enforcement efforts to combat these organized financial crimes.