Canadian arrested in Sandy while attempting to purchase Nintendo products

SANDY — A man was arrested in Sandy and accused of trying to purchase Nintendo products using a "tap to pay" method.

Wei Qin, 52, of Alberta, Canada, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on Wednesday for investigation of unlawful use of a financial card, communications fraud, money laundering and unlawful possession of a financial card.

On Wednesday, Sandy police received a tip from a detective in Orem that Qin was at GameStop, 9183 S. Village Shop Drive, "attempting to purchase two Nintendo Switch 2s by utilizing the Tap to Pay method from (his) cellular phone. Based on multiple previous cases involving this set of circumstances, I know the cards used for these tap to pay payments to be fraudulently obtained and do not belong to the offender," according to a police booking affidavit.

Police say after the fraudulent purchases are made, "the offenders ship the obtained electronics out of the state, with the probability of being taken out of the country. During the purchase of these items, the offenders are communicating with offsite individuals who are directing them through the process and uploading the transaction cards," the affidavit continues. "The suspect will carry two cellular phones and wear an earpiece in one ear, which is exactly what Wei did. With Wei using several different credit cards, with different credit card numbers at multiple stores and unauthorized transaction cards being used to purchase large scale electronics, which are then shipped out of the state via shipping boxes."

According to police, the GameStop employee had already been in contact with police prior to Qin arriving and was aware of the tap to pay scheme. She told Qin that she needed to get authorization for his purchase.

"Wei stated he was going to go to Lowe's (nearby) and would be back in 10 minutes," the affidavit states.

When he returned to GameStop, police were waiting for him.

Officers searched his vehicle in the parking lot and "in plain view we could see gift cards inside a Home Depot bag and papers on the dashboard and passenger seat listing each day planned out. The list showed Day 1 and had several retail stores listed on each line, including Home Depot, Lowe's, Best Buy and GameStop," according to the affidavit.

Gift cards, gift bags and electronics were also found in the vehicle. Investigators say Qin purchased a gaming system at Best Buy but had to use several credit cards with the first card he attempted to use being declined, according to the affidavit.

"Inside the glove box, we located a shipping label that shows a package was shipped from Layton with a final destination of Oregon, which is not where Wei lives or where he is from," police stated in their affidavit. "We seized several items from the vehicle, including a laptop and two cellular phones."

"With the knowledge and experience from myself and other officers, we know the tactics of these suspects to obtain several credit cards, belonging to other people (victims), on their cellular phones. The suspects purchase gift cards, usually valued around $180, along with several small value items and use those gift cards to purchase electronics. The suspects then ship the electronics out of state to other people," the affidavit states.

Last month, Orem police arrested a California man and accused him of using bank cards obtained illegally to purchase Apple and Nintendo products at Costco stores across Utah and Salt Lake counties, and then shipping them out of state.

Police have not commented on whether they believe the two cases are connected.

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