Switched has a new home! Huffpost Tech.

Click here to visit the new home of Switched!

Hot on HuffPost Tech:

See More Stories
AOL Tech

Oregon Man Clones Gift Cards, Steals $6,000 Worth of Merchandise

by Amar Toor on August 14, 2010 at 03:00 PM

ZepedaNot too long ago, 22-year-old Sealtiel Chacon Zepeda, from Beaverton, Oregon, began cooking up a scheme to copy gift cards from local stores. He knew he couldn't just swipe the cards and run, since they would need to be activated by a cashier before he could use them. So, he decided to clone them instead -- at the direct expense of consumers.

After performing 20 hours of online research, Zepeda purchased an electronic card reader, stole a handful of cards from his local Fred Meyer store, and scanned them with his reader. He then discretely returned the cards, and waited until a special computer program detected that another customer had bought one of his cards. With the help of a magnetic card writer, the scam artist would then rewrite the magnetic strip information on another leftover stolen card, supplying it with the data from the card that someone else had purchased. With his newly cloned card, Zepeda would purchase items for personal use, for re-sale, or, in the event that he needed some cash, for immediate store returns.

Eventually, Zepeda's joyride came to a grinding halt when police discovered his scam in February 2009. By that time, though, he'd already managed to swipe $6,000 worth of goods from stores like Abercrombie & Fitch, Apple and Best Buy, among others. Last week, Zepeda pleaded guilty to five counts of computer crimes, and was sentenced to 18 months of probation. Since then, similar scams have arisen, but none have managed to completely blindside police the way Zepeda's did. "This is the first time I've ever seen it," Beaverton Police Detective Michael Hanada told the Oregonian. "This was really unique." [From: OregonLive, via: Geekosystem]

Tags: cardreader, crime, fraud, fred meyer, FredMeyer, GiftCard, GiftCards, money, scam, top

HuffPost AOL Social News Most Popular