U.S. Department of Homeland Security: Chinese criminal gangs use gift cards to launder money and transfer funds

ChainCatcher News, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) disclosed that organized crime groups in China are laundering money on a large scale through U.S. gift cards, transferring funds back to China.

Investigations show that criminals in the U.S. use stolen gift cards to purchase high-value electronic products, which are then shipped back to China for resale. After making a profit, they convert the funds into cryptocurrency and transfer them through Chinese payment platforms. DHS pointed out that related fraud losses have exceeded $1 billion in the past two years, with the involved networks bulk purchasing stolen card numbers through platforms like WeChat, in conjunction with SMS scams and SIM farms to carry out their crimes.