6 GTA men charged in Home Depot gift card scam targeting U.S. residents: police

Police have arrested six men from the GTA, accused of operating an alleged million-dollar-worth gift card scam that investigators say targeted more than 50 people in the U.S.

Investigators with York Regional Police say the probe began in February of this year when an elderly man from Utah got a pop-up message on his computer telling him that his computer security has been compromised.

The man called the number shown on the pop-up message and was told to buy $22,000 in Home Depot gift cards.

After providing the serial numbers of the gift cards to the suspects, police say the cards were redeemed at a store in Markham.

York police investigators say with the assistance of Home Depot and the FBI, they were “able to identify over 50 confirmed victims across the United States who had fallen victim to the same suspects.”

“All of the purchased gift cards had been redeemed by a small group of contractors in the Greater Toronto Area, with purchases totalling over $3 million,” police said in a release.

Investigators executed search warrants at five locations in Markham and Toronto between September and November this year, seizing around $600,000 in Home Depot products and $67,000 in unused Home Depot store credit.

The six men arrested are charged with fraud over $5,000, possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000,
laundering proceeds of crime, and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence.

Police continue to investigate whether there any more victims or suspects in the alleged gift card scam.