GENESEE COUNTY, Mich. (WJRT) – A Target store in Genesee County lost $93,000 to an elaborate gift card scam over four days in February, according to Sheriff Chris Swanson.
He said Genesee County police discovered the national K1 Scam operating locally after a traffic stop on Feb. 18. Shaheem Wright allegedly had 106 gift cards with him and 91 were linked to the scam.
Investigators believe he alone stole $93,000 from the Target store in less than a week. Swanson said the nationwide scam involves dozens of others and likely results in fraud totaling millions of dollars per week.
He said the scammers create fake credit cards. They visit stores during busy times and look for vulnerable cashiers, who may be new on the job or may not understand all of the procedures they have to follow.
“When they find that cashier, you can actually see them on phones saying, ‘Go to this one, go to this one,'” Swanson said.
He said scammers pressure the cashiers to put through transactions with the fake cards and then use the proceeds to obtain more gift cards. The cycle often continues until a manager recognizes the scam and steps in.
“This is a grand theft from our stores and ultimately what happens is, when they lose money from the stores, all of us pay for it,” Swanson said.
Wright is charged with possession of a fraudulent financial transaction device and receiving…
