We at Consumerist have always warned of the downside to buying gift cards, but we never thought to tell you not to buy gift cards with stolen credit cards and then use those gift cards to buy $80,000 worth of electronics at Target. Because that’s exactly what a pair of gentlemen stand accused of doing at Target stores in Long Island.

Police in Nassau County, NY, arrested two men from Brooklyn on Friday, claiming that the alleged crooks first used stolen or fraudulent credit cards to purchase vast sums of Target gift cards at stores in the the NYC metro area. The gift cards were later converted into $80K worth of Target merchandise.

The men had been pulling the caper off for around five months when they were nabbed at the Target in Valley Stream, NY.

When arrested, police say the duo was in possession of several fake credit cards. They’ve been charged with grand larceny, possession of a forged instrument and scheme to defraud. One of the suspects was also charged it ID theft.

Cops: NYC Men Ripped Off Target in 80K Gift Card Scam [Long Island Press]

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