Two men charged after 7 incidents of gift card scams in Waterloo Region

Waterloo Regional Police Service laid several charges on two men who were caught in a gift card scam in late January.

Police said a 30-year-old and 38-year-old from York Region were linked to seven incidents of gift card fraud between Oct. 31 last year and Jan. 29. They are now being charged with theft under $5,000 and fraud under $5,000 (seven counts).

According to the press release, the pair went to grocery stores in Kitchener, Cambridge and Waterloo and activated the gift cards by peeling off the barcodes of similarly-priced meat products and sticking them on the card.

“When one of the meat products was selected by an unsuspecting customer and scanned at a checkout, the gift card associated with the barcode placed there by the suspects was activated,” officials explained.

The men were caught on camera last week around 6:00 p.m. at a grocery store in the area of Erb Street West and Fischer-Hallman Road in Waterloo. Employees saw the men placing the barcodes on the gift cards and leaving the store. This is when police were called and they stopped the black Ford F-150 the two were driving.

Anyone with information is asked to contact investigators at 519-570-9777, extension 6370, or to remain anonymous, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.