Story perspectives

Chinese gang fraudulently issued 15,000 Staples gift cards

By Drooid · Oct 19, 2026, 6:30 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

Chinese organized crime group hacked Staples’ internal Nexus system to create fraudulent gift cards.
Hackers accessed the system via heap-dump requests and hijacked customer-service reps’ sessions.
Hackers issued over 15,000 gift cards valued at more than $5 million.
The gang redeemed 4,630 stolen cards totaling about $425,000 at Target, Sephora and Lowe’s.
In April, the Department of Justice sentenced three Chinese nationals for their roles in the scheme.

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Story summary

Chinese organized crime group hacked Staples’ internal Nexus system to create fraudulent gift cards.
Hackers accessed the system via heap-dump requests and hijacked customer-service reps’ sessions.
Hackers issued over 15,000 gift cards valued at more than $5 million.
The gang redeemed 4,630 stolen cards totaling about $425,000 at Target, Sephora and Lowe’s.
In April, the Department of Justice sentenced three Chinese nationals for their roles in the scheme.