In a cybercrime caper that would make Ebenezer Scrooge proud, a group of hackers known as ‘Jingle Thief’ has allegedly stolen more holiday cheer than a Grinch with a vendetta. It turns out that when they weren’t busy concocting questionable cookie recipes, these hackers were exploiting cloud infrastructure to make off with millions in gift card balances. It’s a plot twist that even Hallmark couldn’t have scripted.

Sources say that the Jingle Thief hackers were able to slip into cloud environments faster than Santa down a chimney. Their MO involved a delicate dance of phishing and smishing, a high-tech combination of fishing for credentials and mixing up trouble with SMS scams. Apparently, the gift card codes were easier to crack than Grandma’s secret eggnog recipe.

Now, retail and consumer services sectors are scrambling faster than reindeer at takeoff, trying to patch up their compromised systems while singing carols of cybersecurity salvation. Meanwhile, the Jingle Thief hackers remain at large, reportedly sipping hot cocoa and toasting to their success, decked out in their best ugly Christmas sweaters, and dreaming of a credit-fueled Christmas.