中国黑帮、礼品卡和非法财富：纽约视角

礼品卡正被中国犯罪团伙用来洗钱，将无辜的礼品变成非法金融计划的工具。红钩项目揭露了一起价值数十亿美元的欺诈案。

China Gangs, Gift Cards, and Illicit Wealth: A New York Perspective

中国黑帮、礼品卡和非法财富：纽约视角

Gift cards, those seemingly innocent tokens of appreciation, have taken a dark turn. They're now a key tool for international crime, facilitating the flow of illicit wealth across borders, specifically from the U.S. to China. It's a wild situation, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is all over it.

礼品卡，那些看似无辜的感激之物，已经发生了黑暗的转变。它们现在已成为国际犯罪的关键工具，促进非法财富跨境流动，特别是从美国流向中国。这是一个疯狂的情况，国土安全部 (DHS) 对此全力以赴。

The Gift Card Scam: How It Works

礼品卡骗局：如何运作

Forget grandma sending you a Starbucks card. We're talking organized crime syndicates using gift cards to smuggle illegally obtained funds. These ain't your typical birthday presents; they're windows into a massive money laundering operation.

忘记奶奶给你寄一张星巴克卡吧。我们说的是有组织的犯罪集团使用礼品卡走私非法获得的资金。这些不是典型的生日礼物；它们是大规模洗钱活动的窗口。

Here's the lowdown: Fraudsters get their hands on compromised gift cards (think stolen data, phishing scams – the usual). They then use these cards to buy high-value goods like iPhones and laptops right here in the U.S. Next, these goods are shipped to China and resold for a profit. The DHS says these profits are then converted into digital currency, slipping into Chinese payment platforms. Boom – money laundered.

真相如下：欺诈者获得了受损的礼品卡（想想被盗数据、网络钓鱼诈骗——这些都是常见的情况）。然后，他们使用这些卡在美国购买 iPhone 和笔记本电脑等高价值商品。接下来，这些商品被运往中国并转售以获取利润。国土安全部表示，这些利润随后被转换成数字货币，流入中国的支付平台。繁荣——洗钱。

As Homeland Security Investigations agent Adam Parks puts it, "The end goal is to cash out stolen money from fraud or other criminal activity." It's efficient, calculated, and organized – like a twisted supply chain.

正如国土安全调查探员亚当·帕克斯所说，“最终目标是将欺诈或其他犯罪活动中的赃款兑现。”它高效、经过计算且井井有条——就像一条扭曲的供应链。

Project Red Hook: Unmasking the Scale

红钩项目：揭露规模

DHS's Project Red Hook uncovered a sprawling network of China-based groups using stolen card data to rake in over $1 billion in fraud in just two years. That's a serious chunk of change!

国土安全部的红钩项目揭露了一个庞大的中国组织网络，利用被盗的银行卡数据在短短两年内诈骗了超过 10 亿美元。这是一个重大的变化！

Dariush Vollenweider, a senior DHS agent, explains, "The system operates with the efficiency of a supply chain." Each player has a specific role, making it a well-oiled, albeit criminal, machine. And just as technology evolves, so do these fraudsters, embracing digital wallets and cryptocurrency to stay ahead.

国土安全部高级特工达里什·沃伦韦德 (Dariush Vollenweider) 解释说：“该系统的运行效率与供应链相当。”每个玩家都有一个特定的角色，使其成为一台运行良好的、尽管是犯罪的机器。随着技术的发展，这些欺诈者也在不断发展，他们利用数字钱包和加密货币来保持领先地位。

The Legit Side of Gift Cards

礼品卡的合法一面

It's not all doom and gloom. Gift cards have legitimate uses too. Bank of America's Mary Bailey points out that they're used for brand building and consumer engagement. People are buying more gift cards than ever, showing they're a stable part of mainstream consumerism.

这并不全是厄运和阴郁。礼品卡也有合法用途。美国银行的玛丽·贝利指出，它们用于品牌建设和消费者参与。人们购买的礼品卡比以往任何时候都多，这表明它们是主流消费主义的稳定组成部分。

Staying Ahead of the Game

保持领先地位

The challenge is real: Financial tools are constantly evolving, and criminal networks are quick to exploit them. Regulators and organizations need to keep up. We need ongoing scrutiny and innovative laws to stop these tools from being used for fraud. Protecting consumers while making sure these payment technologies can actually be helpful is key.

挑战是真实的：金融工具不断发展，犯罪网络很快就会利用它们。监管机构和组织需要跟上。我们需要持续的审查和创新的法律来阻止这些工具被用于欺诈。保护消费者，同时确保这些支付技术确实有用是关键。

The Takeaway

外卖

So, the next time you're buying a gift card, remember there's a whole other world where these little pieces of plastic are fueling international crime. It's a bit unsettling, but hey, at least you're in the know now. Just something to think about while you're sipping your latte – paid for with a perfectly legitimate gift card, of course!

因此，下次您购买礼品卡时，请记住在另一个世界中，这些小塑料片正在助长国际犯罪。这有点令人不安，但是嘿，至少你现在知道了。这只是您在喝拿铁咖啡时需要考虑的事情——当然，是用完全合法的礼品卡支付的！