Three Men Arrested in Massive Texas Gift Card Cloning Operation Worth $14 Million

The Scheme Unraveled

The Texas Financial Crimes Intelligence Center announced the arrests of Kristians Petrovskis, Romunds Cubrevics and Nurmunds Ulevicus, who are suspected of gift card cloning tied to an estimated $14 million in losses. Investigators say the men had more than 400 gift cards in their possession at the time of their arrests.

Investigators said the three men told officers they typically targeted about 10 stores a day, seven days a week, and had been carrying out the scheme since May 2025. Authorities linked the suspects to recent cases in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Central Texas and along the Gulf Coast.

All three suspects were charged with fraudulent possession of gift cards, a first-degree felony. Two are being held in the Dallas County Jail, while one remains in custody in Garland, according to the release.

How Gift Card Cloning Works

Gift card cloning involves removing unactivated cards from store shelves, opening the packaging, copying the electronic card numbers, resealing the packages and returning the cards to the shelves. Gift card cloning happens when fraudsters take gift cards from stores, copy the magnetic strips, and return the copied gift cards to store shelves. When a consumer buys the card, the fraudster uses the copied magnetic strip to drain the funds leaving the consumer with a worthless card.

The process is deceptively simple yet devastatingly effective. To clone a gift card, thieves steal information from inactivated cards on stores shelves, duplicate the cards using a magnetic card reader/writer, and wait for the cards to be activated. Once an unsuspecting customer purchases and activates the card, criminals can immediately begin draining the balance.

The Broader Impact

Americans are expected to spend nearly $30 billion on gift cards this holiday season, according to the National Retail Federation. This massive market makes gift cards an attractive target for sophisticated criminal operations. Unfortunately, gift cards are also a prime target for fraudsters—criminals who exploit inherent vulnerabilities in how cards are issued, activated, and redeemed. Gift card-related scams make up a significant component of fraud losses reported by consumers.

Agencies assisting in the investigation included the Garland Police Department, Dallas Police Department teams, the Texas Department of Public Safety and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The multi-agency response highlights how seriously law enforcement takes organized retail fraud, particularly during peak shopping seasons when consumers are most vulnerable.

Protecting Yourself

Authorities are urging consumers to examine gift card packaging carefully before buying, watching for signs of tampering such as damaged seals or excess glue. Consumers can avoid being defrauded by double-checking to ensure that the number on the back of any gift card matches the number on the receipt. If the numbers do not match, that is a sign the card has been cloned.

Consumers should also look for signs of tampering, such stickers placed over activation codes or damage to packaging or faint scratches on the card from being swiped through a card reader. For extra precaution, consumers may consider purchasing gift cards stored behind the counter or near cash registers.

As gift card fraud becomes increasingly sophisticated, retailers and consumers must remain vigilant. The Texas case demonstrates that what appears to be a simple retail transaction can mask complex criminal enterprises operating across multiple states, turning holiday gifts into financial nightmares for unsuspecting victims.