A Vancouver salon owner recently posted a video on TikTok of a woman apparently being arrested by Vancouver police outside her salon after allegedly attempting to use a gift card purchased with a stolen credit card.
“I posted the video because I am frustrated and tired of being a victim of fraud,” said the salon owner in an email sent to CTV News.
“We have been victimized multiple times by fraudsters in the past who used stolen credit cards to get services and product, and got away with it.”
The video quickly went viral, amassing nearly 300,000 views. Another local business owner recognized the alleged fraudster.
“I remembered her right off the bat,” said Kelly Touvongsa, owner of Vancouver Sculptlab.
Touvongsa says the same woman used a stolen credit card to purchase several services from her business.
“I don’t have insurance that covers it,” said Touvongsa. “It was an $800 gift card.”
Touvongsa says she’s grateful to the salon owner for raising awareness on the issue and standing up for small businesses who’ve been victims of fraud.
“I thought it was amazing because it gave me more clarity of the situation with what was going on,” said Touvongsa. “I thought maybe the person who had purchased the gift card didn’t remember purchasing it — now I know it was fraud.”
The salon owner also told CTV News that her business has had two attempted break-ins over the past month, costing her thousands in insurance deductibles.
She has since taken down the video, however, due to what she calls “a few internet trolls” threatening her business and staff. CTV News agreed to keep her identity concealed due to safety concerns. The owner, however, has no regrets in posting the video.
“We did our due diligence and there was no question that this girl had committed fraud,” said the owner. “The only way to stop these career criminals is to show their faces so people recognize them and see them coming.”
Vancouver police say the case is still under investigation and no charges have been laid. If a business owner ever suspects a fraud has taken place, police say to immediately call 911.