Tha SCAM thread.... add on some you know of.

[Papa Deuce]

Wow, I just read the thread about people getting clay inside their iPod boxes! That is horrible! But it made me think about all different kinds of scams I know of, and in one case, I even know the scammer.

This guy buys used PS2's ( and maybe other stuff ) off ebay. The cheaper the better. He doesn't care if they work or not. What he does care about is that they look like they are brand new.

He goes to stores, buys a new one, paying in CASH, replaces the unit with the ones he bought on ebay. Then he returns the units to the store saying that it doesn't work or he changed his mind.... whatever works. He gets a cash refund and now has a pefectly new unit, which he then sells on ebay. ( at least that is how I think he does it, I may not have it 100% correct.)

EDIT: I "barely" know the guy. But my info came from someone who knows him well.

 

[Makdyn]

did this really happen? I work at target at customer service and we have to check and scan the serial number. If it does not match the box or receipt we can not take it back. Of course some people dont follow policy.

 

[icebrat001]

If you know the person, why not report him?

 

[Papa Deuce]

If you know the person, why not report him?

How could I prove anything? Besides, I got the story from someone who knows him well. I barely know the guy. My "knowledge" is second hand, so I wouldn't report anybody on what I "think" I know.

 

[icebrat001]

Oh okay, I thought you said you knew the poster.

Sorry.

 

[Aurora63]

I worked in retail, so I learned of and was witness to many scams, mostly perpetrated by customers but also some by employees.

One was when I worked at Radio Shack...we had a deeal going when you signed up for MSN internet access, you got a $400 gift card...this required a three-year contract and a major credit card. And of course, only one gift card per customer. We had a lady sign up for it. She then came back again, went to a different employee, and tried to sign up again. When we realized what happened, the manager informed her she had already signed up, and she laughed and said it was her twin sister using her name. SHe wasn't too bright.

Another was when I worked at Dillards, this was an employee. If you've ever shopped at Dillards, you know they have those yellow labels they put on whatever is sold. Those are your proof of purchase, if you choose to return an item, that label can be scanned to see how much you paid, when you bought it, and how you paid. We had an employee who would would ring up a customer, but would not put the POP label on the item. When the customer left, she would ring a return, taking the cash if it had been a cash sale, or putting it on a gift card if it had been credit or check. She eventually got busted. They arrested her at the store and walked her through the whole store in hand cuffs, for everyone to see!

 

[Papa Deuce]

Here is another:

My brother used to work at Macy's or Bloomingdales, not sure which. Anyway, somehow, people used to buy fancy clothes at the Reading, PA factory outlets, at reduced prices, and return them to the sore he worked at for full price. Whichever store he worked at did not require a receipt way back then.....

 

[bicker]

And each one of these transgressions end up costing good, honest folks more money for doing the right thing.

 

[Mono~rail]

And each one of these transgressions end up costing good, honest folks more money for doing the right thing.

Exactly!

 

[cepmom]

Another was when I worked at Dillards, this was an employee. If you've ever shopped at Dillards, you know they have those yellow labels they put on whatever is sold. Those are your proof of purchase, if you choose to return an item, that label can be scanned to see how much you paid, when you bought it, and how you paid. We had an employee who would would ring up a customer, but would not put the POP label on the item. When the customer left, she would ring a return, taking the cash if it had been a cash sale, or putting it on a gift card if it had been credit or check. She eventually got busted. They arrested her at the store and walked her through the whole store in hand cuffs, for everyone to see!

the same thing happened to a girl I work with....we worked together in customer service. She would keep receipts after a customer made a return and "return" another item from the receipt and take the cash for herself. She eventually got busted because she refunded cash to herself from a receipt that was paid for using a cc. Loss prevention noticed the discrepancy and dug a little deeper. They arrested her in the store and have pressed charges. I think they figured she stole thousands of dollars this way

we also just had another employee that was caught stealing. She was a cashier. We have a fairly new credit card offer where the customer can apply and receive instant credit right at the register. A temporary credit card will print out if the customer gets approved. Anyway, this girl had her boyfriend come through her line with a double stroller and a huge pile of apparel. After each apparel item she rang up, she would "item correct" it so it would be deleted off the sale. When she got to the stroller, she rang the sale through using an instant credit temporary credit card slip that she kept from a previous customer. Some people are so unbelievable

 

[Mom2Ashli]

ebay just seems to me to be a filter for more people to scam and get ripped off.

Wow. And we wonder why we have to continue to pay higher prices at the stores.

 

[TheGoofster]

Don't forget the email scams that are a common everyday occurence. the ones I see the most are:

Paypal - people sending you an official looking paypal email saying that there is a problem with your account, and asking you to click on a link to verify your info. At the link you need to give your password to continue. Of course it is not from Paypal (they will never ask for you to email your password), and now some scumbag has access to your account. The first time I got this email, I almost fell for it, but right before I hit send to give out my password, I decided to wait, and go to paypals website and double check, just to be certain. That was one of the smartest things I did that day.

Another is when you get an email from Rev. Rahid Senajahab (or anything along those lines), telling you that you have been selected (by various methods of elimination) to receive 8 million US dollars, and all you have to do is allow the money to be put into your account (there are so many different varieties of this scam as to be impossible to count them all). My SIL was in the final process of falling for this scam (she was getting ready to purchase tickets to go to London to "meet the person" scammer her) when she called my wife to talk about something else. During the conversation she happened to mention her plans to my wife, who didn't think it sounded right, and asked me about it, and I was able to show her three or four of the same emails in my junk folder. Fortunately we were able to stop her before she did spend any of her money.

 

[SC Minnie]

When I was in college I worked at a discount store called Roses during the summer and Christmas break. I worked the 'front end' and approved checks, sent people on breaks etc. One day we were very busy and I noticed a coworker coming through a line with a cart full of merchandise. In order to a the employee discount I would have to insert a key in the register and type in a code so I made a mental note that she was in line and I would need to go over there in a few minutes when she got to the register. The next thing I know she is walking out the door with her cart full of stuff (bagged). The cashier in the line she went through was a friend of hers. This bothered me for a day or to and I finally brought it up to the store manager. They looked at security tapes and register tapes and discovered the employee didn't pay for but a few of those items (enough to throw off people in line). If I hadn't noticed her they would have gotten away with it and there is no telling how many times they did get away with it. The store pressed charges and I had to go to the police station and write an affidavit(?) of what happened.

 

[azgal81]

A person on the budget board noticed this and posted it but what about the ebay poster wow sold a wii box only. He/She even stated this is for box only doesn't include the console but think of how excited your kids will be when they see with wii box which you can put whatever you want in it. The bidding was pretty high as well around 600 dollars. Who does that? But then I guess the bidder knew it was for box only since it clearly stated multiple times or maybe they didn't. Still what a sad situation.

 

[meloneyb21]

I used to work in the admissions box office at the zoo (back in 2001). People who work in certain places and have that specific ID get complimentary admission to the zoo. All they had to do was show the ID, we didn't have to scan it or anything for proof for it to be in the system....well before you knew it, it started a heck of a scam. There were quite a few people involved, these guys that also worked in the box office with me. What they would do is wait for an unsuspecting family, usually one with a lot of kids (therefore the adults were also somewhat preoccupied), take the family's ticket order, usually at least $100 or more per family (Adult tickets were $12.95, kids $10.95....I think) and ring the sale up as complimentary. The family would pay, thinking that they're paying for "real" tickets and the employee would pocket the money while the family is thinking they're getting the tickets they paid for.

It was really diabolical (sp?)....I mean these guys would not do it to everyone. They picked big families preoccupied with little children or young parents who really didn't pay attention to their money or tickets. One of the guys I know personally (it's DH's brother) would leave the job with at least $900 a day. We were only getting paid $7.00 an hour and compared to a lot of the other employees, he always came to work looking fresh and always had something brand new. Everyone wanted to know what was up. He even saved up enough for a down payment on a new car.

Eventually he was caught because a smart customer saw that they had received complimentary tickets even though they had just paid. They went straight to the manager and asked why they had to pay for complimentary tickets.....the matter was investigated and he was fired that same day. Unfortunately though, the zoo had lost so much money that summer due to that scam and who knows what else, that we were ALL fired. Anybody who worked in the box office. They were never any cameras in there and it was a big mess. There were even a few supervisors who were fired for doing the same scam.

DH and I went back to the zoo this past summer.....there are definitely cameras in the box office now and the admission prices have risen by at least $2.

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

WOW! that's so sad!!

did this really happen? I work at target at customer service and we have to check and scan the serial number. If it does not match the box or receipt we can not take it back. Of course some people dont follow policy.
__________________

I know that we bought a DVD player for ourselves and upon hooking it up and everything found it did not work, THEN when we returned it for another at TARGET, all they did was grab the box and toss it aside and told us to get another. We did this 3 times and it was the same process! The DVD player was a cheap-o one for the playroom that never ended up working

 

[cardaway]

Years ago I worked in the Nintendo returns dept. We would open NES system boxes and try and find out what was wrong with them so they could sent to the next step. The boxes we were opening had been returned to a local store and sent back to Redmond for credit.

One box we opened had all the original packing material, and was the correct weight, but contained only a brick. Guess some stores really trust the customer if the box feels right and is heavy enough to contain the original contents.

 

[Iluvthemouse]

I used to work at Service Merchandise and had a friend that worked the pickup counter. If you were familier with SM, it would get so crowded around Christmas time. She was one of the runners that would get the item from the warehouse and bring it up for pickup and circle the receipt that you picked up the item. She had her friends come in with blank pieces of paper and would get the items from the warehouse and circle their "receipt" and hand them the item.

She was a very good friend of mine and I had no clue she was doing this. The manager found out when I was on vacation and had her arrested.

After full inventory we found out a 2 carat diamond ring was missing as well. Weeks earlier she was wearing it saying her fiance gave it to her.