Boise Police Warn Shoppers About a New Checkout Trick

a person holding a smart phone with a credit card on top of it

Boise Police Release Details of their Arrest

How They Caught Hu

According to the Boise Police Department Press release:

Each transaction included five $100 gift cards. Detectives contacted Hu as he got into his car to leave and Hu was taken into custody without incident. Following an investigation, ORC detectives found that over the course of just a few hours, Hu conducted 10 separate tap-to-pay transactions at 5 different retail stores, using multiple stolen payment credentials to purchase or attempt to purchase 16 gift cards and other merchandise. The transactions totaled over $2,000. Evidence indicates Hu traveled into the Boise area as part of an organized retail crime operation. Hu was arrested and booked into the Ada County Jail on the listed charges.

Boise Police Explain How This Crime Happens

Do you check your credit card records daily? Weekly? Monthly? Not many of us do that, which allows the crooks to steal the information and not be detected. Once detection happens, it's game over.

Boise Police Advise You To Do This

Boise Police urge you to be more diligent monitoring your fiscal records. The more you check, the less likely stolen charges will go unnoticed. If you suspect something or see an unknown transaction big or small, they say to contact your credit card or financial institution.