2 people have been arrested after hundreds of stolen gift cards were found as part of a “card heist” scheme in Ventura County

Two people were arrested in Ventura County for stealing hundreds of gift cards as part of a suspected “card theft” theft scheme.

The suspects were identified by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office as Tingxiang Yang, 39, and Lingyu Chen, 35.

On May 10, investigators conducted an undercover raid on a retail store in the 800 block of New Los Angeles Avenue in Moorpark.

A “blitz” is an operation in which undercover agents and uniformed officers work with store loss prevention employees to identify and apprehend theft suspects.

During the operation, store security alerted undercover officers to two men who were seen removing a large quantity of gift cards from a store display and hiding them in a bag.

When the men left the store, they were immediately arrested by investigators.

Around 800 stolen gift cards were discovered during the arrest. Authorities believe the cards were taken from several nearby stores in addition to the Moorpark store.

“The gift card thefts are believed to be directly related to an organized theft tactic called ‘card draining,'” officials said.

Photos of the bust show that most of the gift cards were from Apple, Target, Visa and Razer Gold and sold for $25 to $200 per card.

Through card withdrawal, thieves steal gift cards from store shelves, open them and either write down the card numbers along with the PINs (Personal Identification Numbers) or replace them with new barcodes.

The thieves then repair the packaging and return the gift cards to the store shelves from which they were stolen.

If a customer purchases one of the compromised cards and loads money onto it, the thieves can access the card online and steal the funds before the customer realizes what has happened.

“These types of thefts have already resulted in millions of dollars in losses across the country for victims who unknowingly purchased the tampered gift cards,” deputies said.

Both suspects were arrested on charges of conspiracy to commit organized retail theft. Both posted $20,000 bail and were later released. A court hearing is scheduled for May 24 in Ventura County Superior Court.

The incident remains under investigation by the Ventura County Organized Retail Theft Task Force.

“The aim of the task force is to create a safe environment for everyone while working hand in hand with retailers, law enforcement and the public to identify, locate and arrest the criminals involved in these types of crimes,” said Officer.

Anyone with information about the theft or similar cases is asked to call the Ventura County Task Force at 805-383-8703.

Anonymous tips can be given to LA Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at lacrimestoppers.org.