China-Linked Gangs Use U.S. Gift Cards to Launder Stolen Funds, DHS Warns
Gift cards have become the backbone of a billion-dollar criminal economy that investigators say is moving American money into China.
China-Linked Gangs Use U.S. Gift Cards to Launder Stolen Funds, DHS Warns
The United States (US) federal investigators have started to raise the alarm over a surging money-laundering network run by China-linked organised crime groups that exploits U.S. retail gift cards and mobile payment systems to move stolen cash from U.S. into their country. According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)’s investigative branch, these groups diverted more than $1 billion in recent years by converting fraudulent credit-card and bank information into gift cards or high-value consumer goods, which are then shipped to china or turned into digital currency overseas. The operations begin with phishing or scam text messages sent to U.S. residents—typically claiming tolls, postal fees or traffic violations—with victims tricked into revealing payment data and one-time password codes. That information is then used to load funds into mobile wallets, purchase gift cards, laptops, or smartphones, and funnel value into China. Agents cite “SIM farms” in the U.S.—large arrays of act…
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