The FBI has warned trading card shops about a fraud scheme using stolen credit cards to steal high-value Pokemon cards, after seven stores in New Jersey were targeted.
The FBI’s Newark field office said the shops were hit between September 2025 and March 2026, with some losing tens of thousands of dollars in stock.
FBI reveals how thieves are targeting Pokemon card shops
The scam usually starts with a customer trying to pay by tapping their phone on the card reader. When the payment fails, they ask the cashier to enter a card number by hand, which turns out to belong to a stolen or compromised card.
Stores often don’t find out about the fraud for weeks, giving the thieves plenty of time to resell the cards.
“What they are doing is, they’re using fraudulent credit cards to accomplish that,” Kelly Blanchfield of the FBI told News 12 New Jersey.
According to NJ.com, a criminal network is also using a phone app that stores multiple stolen card numbers and cycles through them at the reader until one is approved. The FBI is now investigating the app.
Card shops in the state have faced more direct thefts as well. The Big Pack Hobby Shop in Rochelle Park lost between $40,000 and $50,000 in Pokemon cards in a smash-and-grab in June.
Vendors have also been robbed outside card shows, including a father and son who lost $150,000 in Pokemon cards and $12,000 in cash in a Woodbridge hotel parking lot.
The FBI is urging shops to disable manual card entry or ask for photo ID when it’s used, keep display cases locked, and install cameras and panic buttons. No arrests have been reported so far.
I’m Abhishek Sharma, an author at TigerJek.com. I enjoy exploring games, testing different strategies, and turning what I learn into clear, useful guides. My goal is to help players understand the game better and improve without the usual confusion.
