Authorities in several states, including Georgia, are seeking a man who allegedly figured out a way to link prepaid gift cards to victims' bank accounts so that he could rob them of thousands of dollars, Channel 2 Action News reports.
The victims all have been senior citizens whose Social Security checks were stolen, police said.
An arrest warrant has been issued for Ramon McCullough, 27, of Tampa. McCullough allegedly re-encodes the strip of the gift cards with the numbers of victims’ bank accounts and then uses them to get cash back with purchases from stores, or to withdraw cash from ATMs.
The scheme was reported recently to the Duluth Police Department when store security at the Walmart on Pleasant Hill Road noticed the same man going through seven different check-out lines on the same day, receiving cash during every visit.
When a card is swiped, "it's not taking away from a gift card, it's taking away from your checking account or your savings account,” Duluth police Maj. Don Woodruff told Channel 2.
McCullough stole $4,500 at the Walmart and is believed to have taken as much as $20,000 from victims in Pennsylvania, Florida and Arizona, police said.
The man allegedly has used the cards for cash advances and purchases and once even to upgrade to a first-class seat on a flight from Atlanta to Tampa.
Duluth police are working with police in Tampa and with the Internal Revenue Service to locate the suspect and possibly several accomplices.
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