Police warn about nationwide scam impacting Luzerne County residents

WILKES-BARRE TWP., LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — After finding a stack of over 100 compromised gift cards at an area store, one local police department is sounding the alarm about a popular scam.

The Wilkes-Barre Township Police Department tells 28/22 News that this is a nationwide scam that has made its way to Luzerne County.

“They call it ‘card draining,'” said Wilkes-Barre Township Police Department Detective Robert Capparell.

Detective Capparell says these scams are typically carried out by groups of people.

“They’ll take all the cards of one type off of the shelf, they’ll go out to the car, they’ll expose the pin number, which is usually covered, and the card number, record it in a computer program,” Detective Capparell explained.

Then, Detective Capparell says, the scammers will typically recover the pin numbers, go into a different store, and put the cards on a rack when no one is looking.

“So that when you as a consumer buy that card, the moment you activate it, the computer program drains that card cause now it knows it’s activated,” Detective Capparell continued.

Leaving the gift card useless.

Detective Capparell says there are a few ways you can identify a compromised card.

“If the pincode is exposed, if you can see the pincode, don’t buy that card. If the sticker is very wrinkled or looks like it’s been reapplied, don’t buy that card,” Detective Capparell said.

Checking your receipt to make sure the number matches what’s on the gift card can also save you some trouble. Another sign of potentially compromised cards is if one stack of gift cards is significantly bigger than the others.

If your gift card is compromised, you can report it to the store, the police, or your credit card company.

Detective Caparell says one of the groups committing these crimes has been through our area, however, no arrests have been made.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PAhomepage.com.