Flint Township Target Store Scammed Out of $93,000 in Four Days

The Target store on Miller Road in Flint Township has lost $93,000 in gift cards over a four-day period, after falling victim to a repeated scam.

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Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson laid out the details in his weekly Facebook briefing, detailing the case beginning at the 5:50 mark.

Nationwide Scam

Swanson said the nationwide scam which is known as the "K1 Scam" is responsible for millions of dollars in losses for stores across the country each week.

Scammers usually look for vulnerable cashiers who are new on the job or are busy. They use fake credit cards and convince the cashier to run the fake card as cash. The scammers then use the money obtained from the fake cards to purchase gift cards, thus rendering the scam untraceable.

“This is a grand theft from our stores… all of us pay for it,” Swanson said.

The sheriff went on to urge cashiers at Meijer, Menards, Home Depot, and other big-box stores in the area to not give in to pressure from customers who could be trying to scam the store and to call a manager if something feels out of place.

Local Scammer Busted in a Traffic Stop

Sheriff Swanson says the man responsible for scamming the Flint Township store was busted when fraudulent gift cards and a large sum of cash were found during a traffic stop.

Shaheem Wright was in possession of 106 gift cards, 91 of which were obtained through the fraudulent 'K1 Scam.' Wright had a ring of seven other people who were involved in the gift card scam.

Wright has been charged with possession of a fraudulent transaction device and receiving and concealing stolen property.