Winter Springs police seek help identifying Dollar General fraud suspects

Winter Springs police are asking residents to help identify two men accused of using a deceptive gift-card scheme to take cash from the Dollar General at 310 State Road 434.

Investigators said the alleged fraud happened March 9 at the store, and the public alert went out June 5 after police released surveillance images. The suspects are accused of using a misleading method to load multiple gift cards and then obtain cash, turning a routine retail transaction into a theft case.

The department said the men deceived store employees to complete the transaction. That kind of scam can move fast at a register, especially in busy or low-staff stores where workers are expected to process sales quickly and may not have time to stop and verify every step. Even when the dollar amount is modest, the loss lands directly on the business and can expose the same store to repeated attempts if the scheme works once.

Winter Springs police said the case is being handled by the Criminal Investigations Bureau, which conducts follow-up interviews with suspects, victims and witnesses and prepares case files for court. Captain Nick Romano heads the bureau and can be reached at 407-327-7998.

Police are also steering tips to Crimeline, which accepts anonymous reports 24 hours a day at 800-423-TIPS. Crimeline says eligible tips that lead to a felony arrest may qualify for a reward of up to $1,000.

The broader warning is not limited to this one store. The Federal Trade Commission says scammers often pressure people to buy gift cards at multiple stores so cashiers will not become suspicious. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has also warned about fake barcodes placed on gift cards, where a cashier scans the bogus code and the money is diverted to the scammer instead of the legitimate purchase.

Florida lawmakers have already treated gift-card fraud as a distinct crime. CS/HB 1007, which created criminal penalties for fraudulent use of gift cards, took effect Oct. 1, 2025, underscoring how quickly the tactic has grown into a larger theft problem. Dollar General says its Winter Springs location at 310 E SR 434 sells gift cards, making the store part of the same payment system that scammers try to exploit.