A woman from North Carolina was caught and charged on October 1 for her part in a scheme to steal over $11,700 from Lowe’s customers last year. The 36-year-old Erica Latrice Daniels was arrested by the Wake County Sheriff’s Office on September 11. On September 17, an order to extradite her was made.
An affidavit from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office says Daniels took part in a plan to steal credit card information from Lowe’s customers. This caused a total loss of $11,755.45 in Florida’s Lake and Orange Counties.
Investigation Background
Synchrony Bank (SYB), which gives private-label credit cards to stores like Lowe’s, noticed a big loss in Lowe’s accounts in April 2023. This was the start of the investigation.
The SYB Special Investigation Team found a multimillion-dollar fraud plan in which people bought Lowe’s customer account information on the dark web and used it to commit fraud. This included phone numbers, usernames, passwords, and information that could be used to find out who someone is (PII).
The thieves got into the victims’ Lowe’s app accounts and got barcodes that were linked to those accounts. After that, they went to Lowe’s shops and used these barcodes to buy gift cards and other small things.
Criminal activity was tied to a Lowe’s account barcode at a store in Gainesville, Florida, while the investigation was going on. It turned out that the phone number used to get into this account did not belong to the real user.
When this number was checked, it was found to have been used to fraudulently access 29 Lowe’s accounts, all of which showed fraudulent behavior in Florida.
Fraudulent Transactions
The fraudulent purchases were caught on surveillance video by Lowe’s Loss Prevention. At 2:32 p.m. on April 16, 2023, Daniels and a man companion were seen at a Lowe’s store at 18795 U.S. Hwy. 441 in Mount Dora.
Daniels tried to buy gift cards but was turned away because he didn’t have a picture ID. She used her phone to scan a barcode that was tied to a victim’s account. This made a $20.51 fraudulent transaction.
Later that same day, they went to a different Lowe’s store in Leesburg at 9540 U.S. Hwy. 441 and Daniels used the same fake barcode to buy two $500 gift cards for $1,011.90. After an hour, they went back to the first store and Daniels scanned five more $500 gift cards. This time, the total amount spent was $2,564.27.
The two kept up their scam at several Lowe’s stores, including one in Apopka, where Daniels made another fake purchase worth $2,043.29. They were seen at an Orlando Lowe’s on April 17 doing a number of things, including buying several $500 gift cards with stolen account information.
Identification and Arrest
Through surveillance video, jail arrest records, North Carolina driver’s license records, and social media posts, Daniels was finally found. A previous run-in with the police gave more proof, including tattoos that could be seen and matched her ID.
The fraudulent actions were based on a set pattern of behavior. It took Daniels two days to get important things with the same stolen credit card information.
On Tuesday afternoon, Daniels turned himself in to the Lake County Jail. He is being charged with planned fraud, fraudulent credit card use, and grand theft (less than $20,000). After paying a $7,500 bond, she was let go.