Asset Misappropriation: Fraudulent Disbursements

Introduction

Another method by which ORC groups defraud retailers is through gift card fraud, of which there are several forms. For one, thieves may purchase legitimate gift cards using stolen credit cards and then sell the gift cards to the highest bidder using an online auction website. In other instances, thieves may purchase low-value gift cards, electronically reprogram the cards to contain a higher value, and resell these reprogrammed cards.

Similarly, ORC thieves may use ticket-switching scams to fraudulently obtain high-value items at a relatively low cost. Thieves use devices that create fake barcodes that they adhere to packages, covering the original barcodes; when scanned, these new barcodes ring up the items at lower costs. If at check-out, a retail employee scanning the barcodes is not paying close attention or does not have a strong knowledge of items’ values, the thief may get away with paying the price indicated by the counterfeit barcode. Criminals can then resell, or fence, the goods at prices higher than those which they paid, but still lower than their retail values.