SANFORD — A New York man is facing felony theft charges for allegedly using stolen credit card numbers to buy gift cards at local supermarkets.

The arrest of Karl A. Jacques, 25, of Brooklyn, took place outside the Waterboro Hannaford Tuesday evening after employees refused to sell him a gift card.

Sanford Police Det. Sgt. Matthew Jones said Jacques had made his way to the Waterboro supermarket after a similar sale at the Sanford Hannaford that employees there found suspicious.

“Hannaford Loss Prevention reported the (suspicious) incident to police because it was indicative of a fraudulent credit card scam that local retailers all across Southern Maine have recently fallen victim to,” said Jones in a statement released this morning.

Jones said such scams usually begin with credit card numbers being illegally obtained, usually by skimmers that are typically placed on ATMs.

“Once the numbers are obtained from the skimmers, the credit card numbers are sold and purchased online,” Jones said. “Fake credit cards are then manufactured using the credit card numbers and account information of unsuspecting victims. These cards are typically used until their limit is reached, or until the issuing bank shuts the card off.

“Purchasing high-value gift cards is a common tactic used by the perpetrators of this scheme, because gift cards can be used like cash and are not easily traceable.”

In this case, Jones said Jacques bought several high-value gift cards at Hannaford supermarkets in Sanford, Wells, North Berwick and York.

“Police had reason to believe that these purchases were made using fraudulent credit cards,” Jones said.

Then came the sale at the Sanford Hannaford, which raised suspicion and led police to the Waterboro Hannaford.

Jacques was arrested and charged with felony theft. He was taken to York County Jail, where he was held overnight in lieu of $25,000 cash bail. Police said he was due to make a first court appearance sometime today.