Cardi B says thieves spent $60,000 on her credit card

Rapper Cardi B says she has been the victim of credit card fraud, and wants the perpetrators who apparently spent $60,000 (£45,000) on designer clothes and Apple goods to be sent to jail.

The musician, who is approaching the end of her Little Miss Drama tour, made the claims in an Instagram live video, saying her American Express card went missing two weeks ago.

She alleged that thieves used it to make a $40,000 purchase in designer clothing store Saks Fifth Avenue and spent another $20,000 in an Apple Store before the card was frozen.

"Let me tell y'all, y'all going to jail by the end of the week," added the star, saying she had obtained CCTV footage of four men using her card.

The Grammy Award-winning musician, real name Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar, is best known for crossover rap hits including I Like It, Bodak Yellow and WAP.

In 2024, she told Complex magazine her net worth was in excess of $88m (£65m), adding: "I make a lot, a lot, a lot of money."

Nonetheless, she keeps a close eye on her finances.

"I ain't like some of these rich people," she said in her Instagram live. "One dollar can't be spent out of me. I don't play when it comes to my bread."

The BBC has contacted American Express to verify Cardi B's claims.

At its peak, the star's video was watched by more than 24,000 fans. She told them how she discovered the alleged fraud.

"My credit card, my AmEx, is connected to my phone," she explained. "Every single time that something is purchased with my AmEx, I get a notification like [someone] is texting me.

"It don't matter if I go to a bodega. It don't matter if I purchase something online. If something is purchased off my AmEx, my phone goes ding, ding, ding, ding."

When she was alerted to the large purchase from Saks, she initially thought it might have been someone from her team. Even so, the transaction raised alarm bells.

"I haven't been buying clothes like that ever since I've been on tour," she said. "Like, I haven't really been buying anything."

When a second transaction came through 35 minutes later, her suspicions were confirmed.

"Before I even called my accountant, my accountant called me - because my accountants also get a notification," said the star. "She's like, 'Yeah, some funny activity is going on'."

They immediately cancelled the card and alerted the retailers.

"But guess what?" she said, addressing the alleged fraudsters directly.

"I got clear, clear pictures of you trying to get money out of a [ATM]. I got clear pictures of y'all in Saks, and I got clear pictures with y'all in Apple.

"Y'all going to jail. Y'all going to prison and I'm gonna make y'all pay me back.

"Because one thing about me, I don't play about my money."

Cardi proceeded to give physical descriptions of the alleged culprits, adding that she had been discouraged from sharing their photos online by her security team in case it interfered with a police investigation.

As the live video progressed, the musician became increasingly agitated, repeatedly threatening violence towards the people who, she claimed, had cost her more than $60,000.

According to trade association UK Finance, fraudulent spending on UK-issued debit and credit cards is on the rise.

There were 220,000 cases of lost and stolen cards being used to make unauthorised purchases in the first half of 2025, with total losses of £52m.

"Card not present" fraud - where criminals use stolen card details to buy products on the internet - increased by 22% in the same time period, resulting in losses of £215.4m.

The BBC's Scam Safe website has developed some simple advice to help consumers protect themselves from fraud, which you can read here.